S t a r s
by SoraxKairi7
Summary: ::SS ZeLink:: Karane and Pipit want to thank Link for helping them realize their own feelings for each other, so they try to get Link and Zelda together, but it proves to be more difficult than the lovebirds originally thought. Will Link and Zelda ever get over their fears or are they destined to just be friends forever? Slightly AU. R&R!
1. One

**A/N:** As I _ease_ into the LoZ fanfiction world, I present you with my very first multi-chapter Zelda fic. I'm so excited for this! There will be drama, romance, humor... and maybe other things. I will try to keep the characters in character, since I can't really see myself having AS MUCH wiggle room as I did with Kingdom Hearts, but regardless, I'll probably end up adding some OOCness eventually. Just a warning. Hehe... so please read, **enjoy, review **and if people like this, I shall continue!

This takes place in Skyward Sword.

I guess the _ship_ is called ZeLink. :)

o.o.o

**Stars**

**Summary:** Karane and Pipit want to thank Link for helping them realize their own feelings for each other, so they try to get Link and Zelda together, but it proves to be more difficult than the lovebirds originally thought. Will Link and Zelda ever get over their fears or are they destined to just be friends forever?

o.o.o

**One**

o.o.o

Link wasn't one to get into other people's personal affairs. Although he thought of himself as a great listener and friend, he really didn't have the interest in who liked who or whatever gossip went on around Skyloft. Link liked being in his own little world, doing his own things.

But yet, his friends continued to come to him for advice.

It all started when he overheard that Karane had a huge crush on a man named Pipit. Link didn't really _listen_ for these things, but things just tended to spread quickly in this town. It seemed like everyone around him was into the latest buzz. At the time, he just brushed it off and went back to eating.

That is—until Karane actually came to him. He was just laying in his dorm room when she knocked on his door. Lazily, Link called, "Who is it?"

"It's me... Karane."

"Come in."

Karane was a senior at the Knight Academy. She was popular among many, but at the same time she was very modest and down to earth. Karane took a seat in the desk chair and faced Link, who now knew that the little time he had to nap before his next class was gone.

"What do you think of Pipit?" she asked. Link didn't have much of an opinion of the guy; he was older and Link respected him.

"Why are you asking?" Link knew the answer, but he had to entertain himself somehow. Flustered, the redhead just turned and looked away. Link chuckled at her and said, "I hope things work out."

...and they did.

A month later, Karane and Pipit's feelings were mutual and they started going out. Even though Link felt like he did absolutely nothing, they both thanked him tremendously for bringing them together. Link just took it and moved on with his day. He was happy for them.

When Zelda heard this news, she was ecstatic and made sure to give her blessings to her. Shortly after, she spotted Link just outside of the Academy. Zelda hurried downstairs to catch up with him. Before he could do anything, she jumped onto his back and Link was forced to hold her in place as she nearly choked him from the impact.

"Hiya, best friend!"

"Gah, Zel-" Link tried to loosen her grip, but Zelda's excitement was clouding her perception. Finally, Link was able to breathe. He turned to scold her, but she just laughed. _'She's so pretty...'_ Link thought to himself; in a daze. They walked side by side down to the waterfall. They sat down and just enjoyed the peaceful sounds of nature.

"Isn't it just _so_ romantic, Link?"

"What?" he obviously wasn't paying attention. Link lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky.

But Zelda just continued. "He confessed his love to her. How sweet..." there was a hint of sadness in her voice as she gazed at the waterfall. "I wish that would happen to me..."

Link glanced up at her and sighed. "Maybe it will." He didn't want it to happen with some other guy, though.

Zelda was secretly frustrated with her best friend. He could never take any hints. She was madly in love with him and he didn't have a clue. On various occasions she tried to make it blatantly obvious, but the boy was oblivious. Unless she kissed him or something, he would probably never figure it out. Zelda looked down at Link, whose eyes were now closed and it seemed like he had fallen asleep. Creepy or not, she loved watching him sleep. She would have gotten down there with him, but he was such a light sleeper he would wake up immediately and probably attack her out of instinct.

The best part was when he started snoring.

Zelda giggled at him; he was so adorable. They had been best friends since they could walk. He knew her likes, dislikes, dreams and everything in between.

Well, everything _but _her undying love for him.

Zelda was too afraid to tell him. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with some silly crush.

But maybe it had gone _way_ beyond a crush. She often found herself drifting off during class and just thinking about him. Whenever someone mentioned his name, she felt all giddy inside. When he looked at her—when he smiled at her, it was like he only saw _her_. (At least that's what Zelda wanted to believe). Link had his own quirks about him that only came out around his best friend and she felt special for being able to see his true self. To everyone else, Link was quiet and reserved. With Zelda, he was almost a different person. He would joke around with her all the time. He wasn't afraid to be himself.

The same went for Zelda; with the exception of not telling him her deepest secret. Sometimes people would mistake them for a couple; in which Zelda didn't mind at all, but Link would immediately correct them in a nervous manner. This disappointed her a bit, but she hoped that someday it would change. Maybe someday Link would finally realize her feelings for him and they could have the happily ever after like Karane and Pipit. She had no idea how Link truly felt about her; he never wanted to talk about it. Not that she asked, anyway. All she knew was that he was very timid when it came to _romantic_ situations.

Zelda returned to her dorm about an hour later. It was getting dark and she was kind of tired. She didn't bother to wake Link up. He liked sleeping outside, anyway. Karane met her in the hallway; their rooms were right next to each other. Anyone could see that she was glowing—and she deserved it. Zelda gave her a soft smile before opening her door. Just as she was about to go inside, Karane stopped her.

"Zelda, can we talk?"

"Hm? Oh, sure." Zelda let her into her dorm room.

"Pipit and I have been wondering how to thank Link for helping us." Karane smiled mischievously at her, "...we know you two really like each other."

Zelda quickly tried to deny it, but she knew that it was pointless. Even though Link couldn't see through her advances, everyone else pretty much knew how Zelda felt. "...alright, you got me."

Karane squealed so loud that Zelda had to shush her. "I don't have all of the details yet, but we want to help you two finally confess."

"Just because I'm in love..." Zelda paused, "...with him, doesn't mean he feels the same."

"So?! I didn't know how Pipit felt about me but look at us now!" Karane exclaimed; all of the lovey-dovey stuff must have gone to her head because no matter what they were going to do, there was no way that Link would fall for it. (He was only dense in certain situations). "Come _on_, Zelda!"

"I'll... think about it."

It was true, she did want Link to know; she was tired of holding it in, but at the same time, was she _ready_ for it? Zelda had no idea what she would do if he rejected her feelings. She couldn't even stand the thought of losing Link—the one she loved the most.

Karane gave her a sympathetic look; she knew that Zelda was afraid. However, Karane believed that Link really did have feelings for Zelda. It was just a hunch at first, but after watching those two interact for so long what else could it be? Honestly, for the longest time Karane was jealous of the two. The way Link acted around her was nothing short of someone that was in love, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Maybe Zelda didn't see it, but she did. It was all in his eyes. That was why she was absolutely sure that this would work out in the end and it was the only way she could thank Link. However, she came to Zelda because she knew how Link was.

He just needed a little _push_.

o.o.o

The next morning, Link woke up by the waterfall right where Zelda left him. Link sat up, stretched and yawned. He had no idea what time it was. Although he was a bit disappointed that Zelda didn't stay with him, it wasn't like he expected her to do so.

There was no way he would _ever_ tell her that.

There were a lot of things that Link kept to himself, but his feelings for Zelda were buried so deep he would basically have to be tortured to reveal them. (Or one or both of them would have to be on the brink of death, whichever...). The truth was, Link didn't want to seem vulnerable around someone that he vowed to protect. He didn't want her to know and possibly act differently around him. He liked the way things were, even if he sometimes had to hold things in. As long as he could have her as a friend, he was fine.

He did wonder, though.

"Fancy finding you here," he heard Pipit behind him and jumped up. Pipit looked at him inquisitively, but then just shook his head and smiled. "You missed sparring class."That meant that it was the afternoon and Link was in big trouble. In a panic, he gathered his things, but stopped when he realized Pipit was laughing at him."I'm only kidding. Classes were canceled today."

"Really?" Link asked as he put his boots back on.

"Yeah, not sure why." A bit relieved, Link just sat there are watched the waterfall. He heard something in the bushes behind him, as if someone was coming. Link listened carefully and prepared himself; it was just a habit of his to be cautious. It wasn't Pipit; Pipit was standing right next to him. "Oh, hey Karane. Hey, Zelda!"

Link turned and saw the girls approaching them. Upon first glance, he noticed that Zelda was wearing a little more makeup than usual. Her hair was also tied up in a bun, something he had _never_ seen her do. Pipit put his arm around Karane and they sat down a short distance away from Link, making some room for Zelda. Zelda seemed a bit shy; as if she was waiting for Link's approval to sit next to him. Confused, Link patted the ground next to him and she did so.

"You look like a clown." Link said bluntly.

"See, Karane? I _told_ you." Zelda scoffed. Karane just giggled.

Link couldn't understand why girls thought that makeup _enhanced their natural beauty_, so they said and he thought Zelda was beautiful just the way she was. So whenever Zelda did something like this, he felt a little weird. In order to shake off the awkward feeling, Link resorted to teasing her. "Are you trying to impress someone?" Link asked, making Zelda blush.

"N-No. Just trying... something new."

Suddenly, Link pulled out whatever was holding the bun up and Zelda's long, blonde hair fell down her back. She was about to protest, but was in awe when all Link did was smile at her. "This is better," he told her and threw the tie into the water. Pipit and Karane just chuckled to themselves. Zelda felt more embarrassed than she should have been, but she couldn't help it.

"R-Right..." Zelda avoided his gaze.

Karane and Pipit stood up. "Tonight there will be some games going on near the bazaar; you two should stop by!" Karane exclaimed. "We'll be going, now." They waved to the couple and were once again left alone. Zelda turned to Link.

"So... you really think that this is too much?"

"Of course I do." Link knew he could be honest with his best friend.

"Then... what do you suggest that I do?"

Link sighed and said, "Just be yourself and whoever it is will like you that way."

Her feelings for him were getting harder and harder to control.

_'It's __you__, idiot...'_

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** I'm going to end the chapter here! So... what do you think so far? Should I continue? Let me know with a **review**. Have an awesome day!


	2. Kiss The Girl

**A/N:** Holy fudgebunnies! Didn't expect all of the positive the feedback! Thanks so much, everyone! Because of that, I'm giving you a new chapter! (Reviews = fast updates)

I figured out who to pick on. Yay!

o.o.o

**Two**

o.o.o

Link and Zelda decided to call their Loftwings and go on a ride through the sky for a while. Link's Loftwing was crimson red; Zelda's was blue. No matter what they did, Zelda always enjoyed her time with Link. They could easily spend the entire day together and every time nightfall came, they would always be surprised that it went by so fast. His Loftwing flew a little ways ahead of hers. Today, Link was a little quieter than usual, she noticed, as if he had something on his mind. They circled the land a few times before finally landing near the Academy. Zelda jumped off of her Loftwing and pet its soft head before it took off. Link spent a little more time with his; he seemed lost in thought.

"Link!" Zelda called out in an enthusiastic voice, snapping him out of it. Link gave one last pat to his Loftwing and the huge bird flew off into the sky. He waved to it. Zelda came up next to him; he still wouldn't say anything. Zelda lightly nudged his shoulder as she went down the stairs. _'I wonder what's going on... and how I'm going to get it out of him.'_ she pondered as she heard him following behind her. Zelda glanced back and saw that he was just staring at the ground. Before she was able to react, they were interrupted by a very... _flamboyant_ character.

"Well, well! Look who it is!"

"Go away, Ghirahim." Zelda grabbed Link's hand and pulled him along so that they didn't have to put up with the freak's attitude, but he wasn't about to let them off the hook so easily.

"It comes to my attention that _you_ rejected one of lackies, missy." He was referring to a man named Groose, whom he believed he was the _boss _of and would often tell him and his two friends, Cawlin and Strich what to do. Groose had a huge crush on Zelda, but obviously she didn't feel that way about him.

Ghirahim must have had some sort of obsession with diamond shaped things. His entire outfit was an atrocity from head to toe. He sported a white jumpsuit with diamond-shaped cutouts on his chest and a pattern of them down both legs. He could never keep his tongue in his mouth; it was always swirling around his white lip gloss in one way or another. He wasn't wearing his red cape today, so Link and Zelda had to put up with his ugly features. "Your purple eyeliner is fading," Zelda said, "you should check a mirror. Did you use any primer?" Ghirahim fumed at her, but apparently already had a mirror and checked. Once he saw that she was indeed lying, he gritted his teeth and mentally cursed them in his mind. Zelda and Link just laughed."Ugh, I would _hate_ to see the rest of _his_ wardrobe."

It was as if Link did a three-sixty, because right after he was laughing and joking with her. "Yeah, shall we introduce him to a few geometric terms? Look how sharp his chin is." Link put his arm around Zelda and pulled her in, pointed to Ghirahim. He lowered his voice a little, "see the 45 degree angle? Maybe we could use it for our project. It's right there, plain as day."

"WHY, YOU!" Ghirahim yelled furiously and stomped his foot down, as if it was supposed to scare them. He took a few deep breaths and straightened his posture. "I'm sure that you heard already, but the carnival tonight will be off the chains. It would be best if you two didn't show up... you know, to avoid the _humiliation_."

"What humiliation?" Zelda crossed her arms and gave him a firm look.

"Of me winning every single game and contest, of course!"

"Well, I know one thing—if there's a cross-dressing contest you've definitely got that covered." Link said.

"ARGH!" Ghirahim had nothing else to say, so he stomped off, causing the two to erupt in laughter. It was always fun to mess with the guy; he never seemed to have any great comebacks so Link and Zelda always took the victory. Link didn't even know why the thing kept bothering them.

"That was _great_, Link!" Zelda calmed down a little. He really was everything that she could have ever dreamed of and more.

"He does it to himself." Link replied. He seemed much better now, so Zelda decided to just brush it off. She gave him the deepest look of admiration. "Uh, is there something on my face?" Link asked.

"N-No." Zelda grinned widely and put her hands behind her back. They went back to the dormitory together. Link waved to her as she went up to her room on the second floor. In a few hours they were going to meet back downstairs and go to the carnival together. Zelda loved events like these. She stepped into her dorm room and kicked off her shoes. _'What should I wear?'_ she asked herself as she opened her cupboard and went through her clothes. Of course, she felt like she didn't have anything appropriate, so she just gave up and settled on something casual. Zelda pulled out a purple maxi skirt and a long-sleeved white top. _'This will have to do...'_ she sighed and set the clothes aside.

Every time Zelda dressed up, (like earlier), Link would definitely notice, but instead of complimenting her, he would just tease her about it. Zelda wished that for once, he would be so speechless that he wouldn't have any witticisms to spout at her, but instead would just tell her that she was beautiful. She needed this from him, at least once. Link never expressed his feelings about things like that. It was frustrating, so instead of taking hours on figuring out what to wear, she often resorted to casual options. He didn't care, anyway.

Zelda parted her hair in the back and braided it into pigtails. Even though he was downstairs, she still missed him. _'I bet he's already asleep.'_ she chuckled just thinking about it. Zelda lay down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. _'I guess I could get some shut-eye, as well.'_

And with that, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

o.o.o

Once Link was in the comfort of his room, he jumped into his bed. However, there was no way that he could fall asleep. For whatever reason, he could not stop thinking about her. It troubled him more than anything; he didn't like when he did this. It happened every now and then. He pictured her smiling face. A tingly feeling appeared in his chest.

He had it _bad_.

Usually he could block these feelings out, but there were times like these when he just couldn't get her off of his mind.

_'She did look pretty, today...'_

Link desperately tried to distract himself with some homework, but it wasn't working. He would see her again when the sun went down. If he couldn't get himself out of this _weak_ state, he had no idea how he would act around her. When he was like this, he was destructible and preferred to be alone until it passed. It was like being drunk without the alcohol. Every single feeling he had for Zelda, every single thought and desire of her would race through his mind and drive him crazy. (Link didn't drink because of this). _'I'm so pathetic...'_ he thought to himself.

He had to find something to do.

Link opened his door and peered out. Henya was coming down the hallway with a duster and was polishing everything in sight. As much as Link hated cleaning, if it was going to distract him, he was all for it. Henya spotted him and as if she read his mind, lazily handed him the duster and said, "Great, you can finish this." She gave him a fake grin and went downstairs.

It was going to be a long night.

o.o.o

Karane, Pipit and Zelda were gathered in the kitchen waiting for Link. The carnival started thirty minutes before and they were growing impatient.

"I would say let's just go without him, but that wouldn't be fair for you, Zelda." Karane said.

"I'll go and get him," Pipit stood up, but Zelda tugged on his sleeve.

"I'll do it." she proceeded up the stairs. She already knew that he was fast asleep. When Zelda got to the top of the stairs, she looked down the hall and noticed someone laying there. Upon closer inspection, it was Link—laying in the middle of the floor with the duster in his hand. Zelda ran over to him and shook him. "Link! Link, are you okay? Wake up!"

He mumbled and rolled onto his side. "Five... minutes..."

"You dork." Zelda rolled her eyes and shoved him. Link shot up, disheveled.

"Where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You kind of... missed the bed," Zelda motioned her head to left; Link's dorm room was right next to them. Link noticed the duster in his hand and sneezed.

"Ugh..." he stood up, "what time is it?"

"Almost nine. The carnival started a while ago." she couldn't help but sound disappointed. "But _really_, Link? You _really_ just dropped on the floor and fell asleep like that?"

"I think it had something to do with dust bunnies. They must have attacked me... those little demons..."

"Whatever. Are we going to the carnival or not?"

Link blinked a few times, "Oh, come on! That was funny!"

"_Whatever, Link!_"

o.o.o

The carnival was lively as ever. Link couldn't stand huge crowds, but he dealt with it for Zelda's sake. She looked pretty happy to be here. He could barely keep track of her; she was like a little school girl during these things—running to every single booth, eating all of the funnel cakes and her personal favorite—shoving cotton candy in his mouth. Link cringed as the substance dissolved against his tongue.

"Blah! Gross..."

"Link! Look! A rupee game!" Link was forced over to the game that Zelda was talking about. "Basically, you take a bow and arrow and shoot the rupees as they come out!"

"Fine. How much to play?" Link asked the person at the counter.

"Ten rupees."

Before Link could respond, Zelda gave the man the money and handed him the bow and arrows. Link positioned himself in the middle of floor and got ready.

"If ya get them all you can choose between three prizes. I won't tell you what they are. Ready?" Link nodded, "GO!"

The first set of rupees was pretty easy for Link; he shot them all on the first try. Pretty soon they started going faster and he really had to concentrate if he wanted to win. Two red rupees on a rope went by. Link timed it just right and shattered both of them. He felt pretty good about this; if there was one thing he could take pride in, it was a game like this one. The last purple rupee appeared. Link extended the arrow and was just about to shoot when all of a sudden he was interrupted by none other than Ghirahim—and his lackies. He missed.

Link was about to throw out every curse word in the book, but he heard Zelda arguing with them. He gave the bow and arrow back to the guy at the counter and hung his head in defeat. Link wasn't too fond of losing, especially not in front of the girl that he loved. Zelda didn't seem to mind, but he liked showing off for her. It made him feel more _manly_.

"Ghirahim, you made him lose with your horrible presence!" Zelda scolded, but the freak just laughed. Behind him stood Groose, Cawlin and Strich. Zelda shot glares at them as well. Link came up next to her; he wasn't too interested in messing with these goons right now. He spotted Karane and Pipit and hurried out of there with Zelda before the freaks were able to say anything else. They caught up to the couple.

"Oh, there you two are!" Karane exclaimed, grabbing Zelda's arm. She knelt in and whispered into her ear, "there's a charity booth over there; _kiss_ for charity, and who _better_ to volunteer than Zelda herself?"

"Oh... no... way..." Zelda shook her head.

"Come on! It could be your chance! Pipit and I can guilt trip Link into it!"

"How so?"

"The charity is for the Loftwings. You know he loves them."

"...still... that means other people will kiss me too..."

"Do it for Link... and... the birds. As long as Link kisses you first it doesn't matter, right?!" Karane winked at her and tugged her in that direction. Pipit got the memo and started trying to convince Link.

"So it looks like Zelda has volunteered herself for the kissing booth."

"W-What?" Link noticed that she and Karane were gone, but as soon as he found the booth he saw her sitting there in the middle of a stage. Karane was putting a blindfold around her and there was a line forming. "Why in the world would she do that?!"

Pipit could see that Link was getting worked up over this, so he continued, "Yeah, you'd better hurry up... you know Zelda loves contributing to charity."

"Charity?" Link scanned the banner; it was for the Loftwings. _'Damn it...'_ he thought to himself. As far as he knew, Zelda had never been kissed before. He kind of... wanted to be the first, but his nerves were way too high. The line was filled with so many guys. _'No... this can't be happening...' _He saw Groose get in line and that nearly pushed him over the edge. Link rushed over to the front of the line. He didn't care if people were yelling at him.

"Zelda, what are you doing?!"

"Link? Is that you?" Zelda obviously couldn't see him. Link read over the prices. _'Five rupees, kiss on the hand. Ten rupees, kiss on both hands. Twenty rupees, kiss on the cheek, Thirty a kiss on both cheeks... and for 100 rupees... a kiss on the lips...'_

Link didn't have 100 rupees.

The first guy stepped forward. Just as he was about to put five rupees in the jar, Link grabbed the jar and guarded it. He couldn't deal with this.

"What are you doing?" Groose came up to the front and nearly shoved Link onto the stage. "Just because she's your best friend doesn't mean that you get special privileges! Pay up or step back!" Groose showed off his 100 rupees. In a panic, Link ran towards Zelda. Groose went after him.

"Zelda, you can't do this." Link tried to untie her blindfold, but was pushed onto the wooden floor by Groose. Unsure of what was going on, Zelda was starting to become increasingly nervous. Her hands gripped her skirt tightly. Someone was breathing within inches of her face.

"Alright, Zelda! Looks like the almighty Groose will be stealing your first kiss!" He swooned, "Let me just say, this is _such an honor_!" Groose leaned forward; their lips touched for a split second, but in the midst of that exchange, Zelda freaked out and pushed him away.

"NOPE! Nope... nope..." Zelda stood up, took off her blindfold and hurried off of the stage—but not before noticing that Link was still on the stage floor, staring up at her. _'He didn't even try to stop the guy.'_ A little upset, she maneuvered past the people in the crowd. She could hear Link calling after her, but all she felt like doing was crying at the moment and she didn't want him to see that. Her first kiss was _almost_ ruined. Even that one little touch made her feel sick. She made it back to the Academy. Just as she was about to go inside, Link stopped her.

"Zelda!" He grabbed her arm and she flung backward. She was now nestled up against his chest. In those few moments, she forgot everything that she was upset about. It was short lived, however, because Link let go of her arm and took a few steps back. "Eh..."

"You're a jerk." she grimaced, heading for the door.

"What?" a bit confused, Link wanted to argue, but she already went inside. "That makes no sense!" he yelled after her. He _did_ try to stop it from happening. He knew how important the first kiss was to Zelda—and himself.

He also knew that it was a setup.

So who better to take out his frustration on than the masterminds themselves?

"Link, what happened? Where's Zelda?" he heard Karane's voice. She and Pipit were coming towards him.

"Look, just _stay out_ of our business, okay?!" Link yelled.

"Whoa, calm down. We were only trying to help." Pipit defended.

"But in the meantime, Zelda is _crying _right now because I couldn't do anything."

"So why didn't you?!" Pipit's voice raised.

Link couldn't believe this right now. Instead of arguing with them, he decided to just go inside and go to bed. He would figure out how to deal with Zelda in the morning.

And of course—he couldn't sleep at all that night.

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** Uh oh! Drama unfolds! What will Link do now?! Leave a **review** and let me know what you think! Did you like this chapter? Would you be _Groosed_ out too? Ha! Okay, pun over. Anyway, follow, favorite, **review **and have a great rest of the day! (or night...) :D


	3. Too Late

**A/N:** Thank you all for the support!

o.o.o

**Three**

o.o.o

Link felt kind of bad for yelling at Karane and Pipit, but even if their intentions were good, they didn't quite understand what was at risk. They both were afraid of being rejected and losing each other. That was a given. However, to Link it was way more than that. He _needed_ her in his life. Zelda was the only person he could trust. She was the only person that he could rely on. She was the only girl that could make his heart flutter. She could right his wrongs and put him in his place. He loved that she could be assertive and confident, but also cute and shy. Her personality was a perfect balance for someone like him—and maybe he only thought so because it was all he had ever known, but he didn't want to know of anything else. Zelda was the one that he wanted. She made up for what he lacked.

That was why it irked him so much when people teased him or tried to interfere with their "relationship." They just didn't get it. Link was stubborn. He liked to go at his own pace, even if it was at the expense of others. Link didn't have the _courage_ yet.

If Link were to confess to Zelda, he wanted to make sure that he was ready—for _everything_. How he would _know_ whether he was ready or not was a different story. Link has never dated before. He has never been attracted to anyone but Zelda. Sure, there have been girls that would come to him and tell him they liked him, but that didn't sway Link. They weren't like her. Although Zelda's father, Gaepora was fond of him, he still expected the best of the best for his little girl. To Zelda's father, Link was seen as just a good friend. Part of that could have been because Gaepora was also the Headmaster of the Knight Academy... and Link was somewhat of a slacker when it came to schoolwork.

It wasn't that Link wasn't smart, per se, it was more a matter of laziness. Procrastination was a huge problem for him. Zelda would often get after him about it. Link only enjoyed the physical subjects that he could actually apply to his future life as a Knight, not Math, History or English. He knew all of the basics; what was the point of the rest of it? Link certainly couldn't see it. However, that made Groose more appealing to Gaepora and that itself was kind of sad. Groose may have been cocky and lacking common sense at times, but strangely he was at the top of the class—along with Zelda. Physically, he was stronger than Link. He had bigger muscles; something Zelda swore up and down that she didn't care about, but occasionally Link would catch her staring. Sometimes he wondered if she actually did like Groose at one point in time. She always denied it, but Link was insecure. Many guys have tried to date Zelda over the years, but she always turned them down. He was thankful for that, but at the same time he couldn't help but wonder if he was going to lose her to someone else one day.

He obviously didn't want that to happen.

Morning came and Link was already awake. He was tired of laying around and just wanted some fresh air. Link got dressed and went out. Ghirahim, Groose and Cawlin were huddled together, whispering something. They immediately noticed Link and decided to mess with him.

"How _dare_ you get in my way!" Groose yelled, "We all know that Zelda will be mine someday!"

"How do you figure?" Link asked, "Because if you recall, she nearly threw up when you got near her. That doesn't sound like you're _destined_ to be together to me."

"S-She was just... nervous!" Groose retorted, but he had finally accepted defeat. Link tried to walk away from them, but they just wouldn't shut up. Ghirahim danced around him (literally) and started mocking him. Just then, Zelda came outside and saw what they were doing. However, Ghirahim didn't notice her.

"What is this? Is little Linkie too afraid to ask out his best friend?"

"Shove it." Link tried to move past him.

"We all know it, Link. Everyone knows that you two are _so much_ in love."

"YEAH!" Groose added, "You two are always rubbing it in our faces!"

Zelda listened to everything; she was hoping that maybe Link would redeem himself somehow by flipping them off or whatever, but he just stood there and took it. Normally he would be shooting comebacks but something was strange about him today. Was it because of her? She didn't _mean_ to call Link a jerk; she knew that the way that she handled it was wrong. It was like all of her frustration came out with that one little incident. Of course Link tried to stop it, but Zelda was just being too sensitive lately. Hiding this from him was driving her crazy.

Zelda wasn't good at admitting her mistakes, so instead she would retort with mean remarks.

"Why would Zelda want a scrawny fellow like you?" Ghirahim continued to swirl around him, "She needs a _real_ man. What would you be able to offer her? You can hardly pass your classes."

"Yeah, by academic standards, you're dumb!" Groose said.

"And by anyone's standards, _you're_ dumb."

"Argh! I'll have you know... I've got plans!"

Zelda had enough. She marched over to them and pushed Ghirahim away from Link. The man fell onto the ground and started whimpering. "You threw off my groove!"

"Shut up you little-"

"Zelda, let's just leave." Link grabbed her hand. She shivered at his touch. They walked for at least five minutes—in no particular direction, but Link kept her hand in his the entire time. Zelda wasn't about to complain. They stopped in front of the bazaar. Link retracted his hand and felt a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and kicked the dirt beneath him; trying to avoid eye contact.

"Link, what are we doing out here?"

"I don't know."

"Okay? So... what do you want to do then?"

"I don't know."

Lie.

He wanted to hug her. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and take her away from this place. They could run away together and nobody would ever find them. That's what he wanted to do. He wanted Zelda by his side—forever.

"Umm..." Zelda was unsure of what to say. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Look, I've... got homework... to do..."

"What? Are you sick?" Zelda placed her hand on his forehead, "You don't have a fever..."

Her closeness made him even more nervous. _Now_ he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Link was entranced; he was no longer in control. His arms found their way around her and without realizing it, he was holding her. Zelda squirmed beneath him, but Link only tightened his grip, making her loosen up instead of fighting it. Zelda hugged him back. They didn't care how awkward this looked to the bystanders. Link was lost in his own world. He had no idea what he was doing, but he liked it.

"What... are you..." Zelda trailed off. Even though this was amazing, she couldn't help but feel like she was being led on. He didn't like her more than a friend. It was impossible. Zelda broke away from him.

"I'm sorry." Link was avoiding eye contact again. He felt really stupid now.

"For... what?" Zelda tried to hold back her tears, but it was a lost cause. Would Link _ever_ understand? "I'm just going to go back to the dorms... I'll see you later..."

"No... please don't... go." Link begged, making her weak in the knees. Once again, he was losing control of himself. Zelda stayed in place and waited for him to say—or do something, but nothing was happening... as usual.

"Bye." she walked off. Link didn't try to stop her again.

_'Subconscious, I hate you.'_ Link thought to himself.

o.o.o

Zelda went to the Lumpy Pumpkin pub the next day with Karane. She was still a bit disappointed with Link. Karane gave her sympathetic looks. She had an idea of what Zelda was thinking about, but she decided to keep her comments to herself this time.

"Hey, how have you two been? I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks." the waitress, Kina said to them.

"We're doing great!" Karane answered for her, even though she knew that Zelda wasn't very happy at the moment.

"I heard that you and Pipit finally started dating!" Kina patted Karane's back and she blushed. "I'm so happy for you two. What about you, Zelda? Find that _special_ person yet?"

But Zelda didn't hear her.

"Zelda?"

"Oh! Um, nope! I'm still single as ever." Zelda tried to crack a smile. To tell the truth, it was kind of annoying when people would ask her about her relationship status. If everyone knew how she felt about Link instead of Link himself, why did they continue to ask?

"Oh, I see. Well, don't worry. You'll find him." Kina giggled, "What can I get you today?"

They ordered some pumpkin soup and Kina hurried off. Zelda fiddled with her spoon.

"Alright, what's the matter?" Karane asked.

"It's nothing... I just... have a lot on my mind."

"You do realize that you contradict yourself with that statement?" Karane joked. "You know, Link is not a mind reader. Guys are dense. They won't know how we feel unless we say it to their face."

"Yeah, I guess... but it's not that easy."

"I know."

Kina returned with their pumpkin soup. It smelled so good, Zelda thought and she couldn't wait for it to cool down so that she could dig in. "By the way, Zelda, would you be interested in a job?" she asked.

"A job?" Zelda looked up at her inquisitively.

"Yeah... it gets pretty crammed here on the weekends. I was wondering if you would like to work here part-time? My dad is looking for someone and I know if it's you he would definitely go for it."

"That sounds great!" Zelda exclaimed. A job was just the thing that she needed to distract herself from all of this. She had never worked before, but she figured that it would be fun. Plus, it would be nice to have a little bit of money of her own. Zelda was all for being independent and supporting herself, even though Gaepora spoiled her all of the time. She was nearly and adult and it was time to stand up on her own feet.

"Awesome! Why don't you come in for training on Wednesday and Thursday? You've been here enough times to learn the menu, but there are still other things you need to know. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, as long as it's after my classes are over."

"Of course. How about... five o'clock to ten?"

"I'll be there!"

o.o.o

Zelda was so excited about her first job that she forgot all about Link for the time being. She rushed home just to tell her father about it. He was in his office looking over some papers when she came in.

"Hello, my dear."

"Daddy! Guess what?!" Zelda jumped up and down in excitement.

"My, my, aren't _you_ happy? What's going on?"

"I'm going to start working at the Lumpy Pumpkin pub on Wednesday!"

Gaepora gave Zelda an anxious look, "That's... great, but you really don't need-"

"Dad, I'm really thankful for everything you do for me, but this is a wonderful chance to make some money on my own. I'm so excited!"

Although Gaepora didn't mind women in the workforce, he actually preferred Zelda to be a housewife. It wasn't that he didn't believe in his daughter, but he was a very traditional person when it came to family. Zelda knew this. She had been conditioned her entire life to fulfill her family role, but to Zelda that just wasn't right. She wanted to do more in life than just fix dinner and take care of children. Her personality just didn't _fit_ the housewife mantra.

"Honey, you know that I would much rather-"

"I know, dad... but I want to find my _own_ path." Zelda cut him off. "I really hope that you will let me do this."

Gaepora sighed. His little girl was growing up so fast and he wasn't quite ready to accept that.

"You are my only daughter. Is this really what you want to do?"

"Of course," Zelda smiled.

"If that's the case, you must do something for me."

"Huh? What's that?"

Gaepora snapped his fingers twice and the door opened. In walked Groose; wearing a suit and tie. "If you want a job, marry him."

"What?!" Zelda shrieked; this was the _last_ thing that she expected from her humble father. "Hell no!"

"Watch your tone!" Gaepora snapped.

"Aww, that hurts my feelings!" Groose pretended to cry. Zelda tried to stop herself from kicking him in the shin.

"This is the only way that I can know that you will be safe. Groose is a very fine young man and I am comforted if I know that he will be around."

"But dad... I hate him!"

"This is the best thing for you. Groose came here this morning and asked for your hand in marriage. Of course, I agreed."

Zelda wanted to rip Groose to shreds, but that wasn't realistic. She did, however want to do some sort of harm to him. He grinned widely.

In Skyloft, if the father accepted a proposal, the said daughter was required to go along with it. Zelda just wanted to cry. This was insane. Zelda rushed out of there. There was no way in hell she was going to marry that idiot. Maybe her father meant well, but he didn't really know what Groose was capable of. He didn't know that Groose always bullied her and her best friend. He didn't know that Groose was more of a coward than Link was. She would be better off learning how to fight on her own. But the law went against her in every way.

Normally, Zelda didn't defy her father, but this was going too far. It wasn't going to happen. She was still going to go to work. She was still going to graduate and she would _never_ settle for the label of 'housewife' or 'trophy wife,' or anything like that. Zelda may have been a hopeless romantic, but she also had a strong sense of independence. She needed to be able to experience life to the fullest; not be tied down. She never really felt like Skyloft was her true home anyway.

Link saw Zelda running towards the edge of the land. She jumped off, called her Loftwing and the Loftwing swooped in and caught her. Link realized that she was going down below the clouds. Zelda wasn't allowed to go to the surface by herself; it was way too dangerous. Gaepora appeared behind him and startled him.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Follow her."

"Uh, yes sir."

"I'll go!" Groose said. His Loftwing came and he started to go after Zelda. Link took this as a challenge and did the same. He couldn't let Groose get to her first. If Link had any rivals, Groose was it.

Gaepora sighed and watched as the two guys disappeared underneath the clouds. He knew that he was risking his relationship with his daughter by arranging this marriage, but at the same time he truly felt like he was doing the right thing.

Link caught up with Groose. "Stay back! I don't need _you_ to rescue my fiance!"

"Fiance?" Link repeated. They could see the surface below.

"That's right! Her father said yes to my proposal! By law, she has to marry me!"

"What?!" Link's heart shattered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. _'Did Zelda accept this...?'_

He was too late.

Link directed his Loftwing upward. It was over.

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Please **leave a review** and tell me what you think so far! I can only see this story having about nine to thirteen chapters—but that could change. Thank you so much to everyone that has followed, favorited and reviewed so far! Have an awesome day!


	4. Party Time

**A/N:** Ah! Is this story getting boring? I hope not! -cries-

o.o.o

**Four**

o.o.o

As Link flew through the clouds on his Loftwing, his mind was racing in all different directions. If Zelda was _really_ getting married to Groose, there was no room whatsoever for someone like him in her life. He felt this way for a multitude of reasons; if she got married, she would gradually drift away from him. She would have children and wouldn't have time for her best friend. She would eventually forget about him.

_'Wait, I'm not being realistic here...' _It was impossible for Zelda to forget him, right?

Link heard Groose nearby calling out to him. He couldn't quite make out what the turd was saying, so he sighed and directed his Loftwing towards him. Groose was freaking out over something.

"Zelda isn't down there! She's not around the statue at all!"

Link rolled his eyes; Groose tended to give up on the first try. For all they knew, Zelda could have been hiding from them. Groose started flying upward.

"Where are you going?" Link called to him, but he disappeared over the clouds. This meant that Link had to take it upon himself to search for Zelda. He went down towards the statue. Indeed, she wasn't there, nor was she anywhere nearby. _'Hmm, where would she be, then? Knowing her, she would have gotten distracted.'_ That's when it hit him. He knew exactly where she went.

o.o.o

Groose landed back on Skyloft. Gaepora was waiting for him, but was a little disappointed when he didn't see that Zelda was with him. Groose hung his head in shame.

"Well? Where is my daughter?"

"Link is looking for her."

"You gave up that easily?" Gaepora glared at him. "Groose, I said that you could marry my daughter because I believed that you could protect her. Was I wrong?"

"N-No sir! I will go back and look for her!"

"Right answer."

Groose stumbled back onto his Loftwing. He was a little afraid of going anywhere beyond the statue, but if it was for Zelda, he had to do it. He didn't want to fail her father and make him doubt him when he was doing so well. He got this far-he wasn't about to give up now.

"I'M COMING, ZELDA!"

o.o.o

Link flew into the Faron Woods and towards the Great Tree. Groose wouldn't dare go this far, so it was the perfect spot for Zelda to hide. He circled around the tree until finally, he spotted her. She didn't see him, so Link decided that he would surprise her. He landed and his Loftwing flew off. Link paced around to where she was; she was sitting with Yerbal, the Kikwi Hermit. She looked kind of sad. Link sat down and eavesdropped for a bit.

"What troubles you, kwwwrk?" Yerbal asked. Zelda lifted her head and stared out at the beautiful scenery all around her. Nightfall was approaching; the sun was setting in the distance. She really didn't want to talk about it, but if she didn't tell _someone_, she would probably go insane. She definitely had no idea how to tell Link, that was for sure.

"You know, I really would just rather live down here. There aren't any stupid rules like up on Skyloft."

"Oh, there are rules, but... what do I know? I'm a hermit."

"It's just... my father is telling me that I have to marry someone... that I really do _not_ like... and I don't have much of a choice unless I abandon my home. But I can't do that..."

"Take it from me, sometimes running away is the only way to get your head on straight. Maybe living somewhere new for a change would be good for you." Yerbal sat down next to her. As Link listened in, he was a little more comforted by the fact that this was just a ploy of her father and not in Zelda's will. _'Of course she would not willingly marry him... what was I thinking?'_ he let his emotions get the best of him before he could even be rational about it. Zelda _hated_ Groose.

Maybe he had nothing to worry about, but the rules of Skyloft still applied.

Zelda continued, "Yerbal, has there ever been someone that you just couldn't get off of your mind?"

"Hmm? I don't think so."

"Oh..."

Their tones got lower and it became harder for Link to hear, so he tried to move a little closer, but in the process he felt a sneeze coming on. He tried his best to hold it in, but his effort was futile. Zelda and Yerbal heard him and stood up in a defensive manner, only to realize that it was just Link.

"L-Link!" Zelda hurried over to him. "What are you doing here?" she helped him stand.

"Better question, what are _you_ doing here?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Zelda sighed and took a few steps back. "You know, when I heard that you were _engaged_ , I was kind of hurt by it. But at the same time, maybe it really was in your best interest to get engaged without telling me."

"Link, it _literally_ just happened. I was upset, so I came down here."

"You didn't let me finish." Link put his finger up to her mouth to shush her and smiled. "Running away doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"So you _were_ listening?" Zelda gave him a dirty look, but Link disregarded it.

"Let's just stay here."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I love kickin' it with the Kikwis." Link said. "Hey, Yerbal, how long would it take to become an official citizen?" Now Zelda _knew_ that Link was just being sarcastic, but Yerbal didn't notice.

"You know, kwwwrrk, I heard that the Kikwi elder, Bucha was having a big feast tonight for his birthday. Maybe you two should stick around, kwwwrk."

"It's his birthday? Awesome!" Link exclaimed, "Come on, Zelda! Please?"

Zelda wasn't in any position to refuse, so she gave in.

o.o.o

The Kikwis were ecstatic upon their arrival. They had started a huge bonfire and were dancing around it, chanting some song that sounded like a birthday song. Zelda quickly forgot about her troubles and jumped in with them. She improvised a dance in the best way she knew how. Link was a little too shy to do this, even though he was the one that begged to come here in the first place. Zelda eventually forced him into the circle. The Kikwis waved their puny arms back and forth; Zelda and Link copied their movements. Link felt a bit silly for doing this, but Zelda was actually having fun and in turn, Link was happy that she was happy.

Bucha appeared and the chanting stopped. The creatures all gathered in front of the bonfire and waited for their elder to speak. Link and Zelda sat on the ground; one of the Kikwis jumped into Zelda's lap. Zelda loved being away from Skyloft for once and she was happy to spend it with Link. She looked over at him; he seemed content.

"Thank you all for coming and special thanks to our human guests, Link and Zelda for stopping by!" Bucha cheered; Link and Zelda blushed at the applause. "I'll keep this short—let's party tonight!"

"Would it be bad if I asked him how old he was?" Link whispered to Zelda, who just giggled. The Kikwis started dancing again; they were pulled into the crowd.

"Check this out, Link! I'm _Kwerkin'_!" Zelda started shaking her hips in a very _interesting_ manner. She didn't realize it, but this would not have been appropriate around a bunch of teenage boys and even he was starting to feel a bit... hot. Link hurried and covered her, but nearly tripped over one of the Kikwis, knocking Zelda down in the process.

"Kwwwrk, are you two okay?" a Kikwi asked. Link was on top of her in an even more awkward position. Zelda gulped; she was too stunned to push him off of her. Luckily, Link's senses kicked in and he quickly got up, too embarrassed to say anything.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you two liked each other!" Bucha called out, making things worse. The Kikwis cheered in agreement. "Why don't a few of you go and prepare a little area for them?"

"Area? What does that mean?" Zelda asked as she stood up.

"We Kikwis like to call it—a kwiki." Bucha said; a few Kikwis ran off to do as they were told. Link realized what was going on and tried to stop it, but it was no use. How Zelda didn't understand was beyond him. They were preparing an "area" for them to _do it_.

"I don't get it, but I would love to see this area!" Zelda exclaimed.

"Zelda!" Link tried to shush her, but it didn't work. The party continued and soon the food came out. However, Link wasn't in the mood to eat. He was going to be alone with Zelda in a tent made out of plants.

This was ridiculous.

Why did _everybody_ always try to hook them up?

Why couldn't Link ever have his way?

Why didn't the Kikwis understand human relationships—and reproduction? All they had to do was tie those plants on the top of their heads together and BAM! A new Kikwi is born. It was not an emotional process at all—it was simply done to create more workers. It was all about business. They could do it out in the open and nobody would care. Maybe Link was missing a few details, but regardless, the point was that he really didn't want to do this.

"Drink this!" a Kikwi handed Link some nectar juice, one of their favorite drinks. Unbeknownst to Link, however, this drink had a bit of a twist to it. He took a few sips; it tasted pretty normal. He watched as Zelda chugged it down and asked for seconds; she was starting to get a bit loopy.

"Did you spike this?!" Link asked, suddenly feeling the effects himself. The Kikwis just giggled and ran off. Link set the drink down and went over to Zelda. It was time to leave. However, he started to feel dizzy and could barely hold himself up. That was _one strong _drink. Zelda was having the same problem, but of course she had way more than he did. A few Kikwis gathered and started carrying them off to the secret _place_ that they had prepared for them. Link and Zelda were too weak and out of it to fight back; they just stared up at the stars as they were dragged away.

"Have a great time!" he heard Bucha say; then everything went black.

o.o.o

Links eyes shot open. Something—or someone—was on him.

_Oh,_ it was _Zelda_. She was sleeping soundly on his chest. Link lifted his head up a little so he could see her face. She looked so... peaceful.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

_'What if I just... held her?'_

Link carefully tried to turn onto his side so that he was facing her. Although his arm underneath her was a bit numb, he still managed to wrap it around her as he scooted a little closer. Zelda was out. Link bravely placed his other arm across her back and pulled her in. If this was his only chance to do something like this, he was going to take it.

He was tired of being afraid.

Their foreheads touched; he could hear her breathing as he stared down at her. Link knew that this was going way past the boundaries of their friendship, but... if Zelda never found out, then it was okay, right? He had dreamed about a time like this—where he could hold her without having to worry. He underestimated the situation, however; he never thought it would take this much out of him. He was helpless in her presence and she wasn't even awake. It was that little piece of heaven that he longed for; he was having trouble focusing. If he could just stay like this a little longer...

Zelda started to move beneath him; he heard mumbling sounds as she tried to get comfortable. Link didn't want to let go, though. _'Please don't wake up...'_ he held onto her, but inevitably, Zelda's eyes fluttered open and they were in yet another very awkward situation. However, Link was stuck now. He didn't want this to end.

"L-Link?"

"Don't... say anything..." he held on a little tighter. Zelda was trying to figure out what was happening—she couldn't quite tell whether she was dreaming or not. She was less than an inch away from Link's face and he wasn't moving.

"Link..."

"Shhh,"

"No, Link... you're-"

_'Please stop talking...'_

"Link, I can hardly breathe!" Zelda pushed him off and sat up. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"H-Huh? No..." Link also sat up; he must have screwed up once again.

Zelda wasn't sure what to think at the moment; this wasn't a dream and Link was really holding her just a few seconds ago. She also took this time to inspect her surroundings. They were in what seemed to be a tent made out of large pieces of grass, just as Link suspected. Pink flowers were behind them and the entrance was made out of vines with flowers as well. Zelda crawled forward and looked outside; they were on top of a cliff around the lake!

"How... did we get here?"

"They got us drunk."

"What did you do to me?" Zelda hugged herself defensively.

"Really, Zelda? You actually think I would do something to you?"

"Gee, I don't know, you were holding me so tightly I could feel my air supply slowly draining!"

"Maybe I wanted to hold you!" Link blurted out.

Silence.

"W-what?"

"N-nothing. Let's just... forget this ever happened." Link lay down and turned away from her. He felt stupid once again.

"You wanted to hold me?" Zelda repeated, still trying to register it for herself, but Link didn't answer. He was too embarrassed. Zelda wasn't sure what to do at this point. She started to blush; was this Link's way of being romantic? She couldn't help but giggle to herself.

"What's so funny?" Link spat out, still being as stubborn as ever.

"Why didn't you just say so?" she nudged flirtatiously a few times. She may have still been a little tipsy, but she didn't stop to think about it. Link sat back up.

"What?"

"Link, if you wanted to cuddle, you should have just said so!"

It was like her personality had changed completely. Link was a little confused because of this. His instinct, however, was to become defensive. He turned away from her and crossed his arms. He felt like he was being made fun of and he didn't like it.

"What's the matter?" Zelda asked.

"Is this a joke to you?" his serious tone threw her off.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Never mind, let's just go back to sleep. The Kikwis would be upset if we didn't stay in here all night."

"What is this place, anyway?"

"You really haven't figured it out?"

"No." Zelda said sheepishly.

"It's a mating tent."

Zelda gasped so loudly that it made Link jump. "So... so... now they're going to think that we did something? Wait, _did_ we do something?! Ah!" her face was extremely red.

"We didn't do anything."

"But you were—so close to me..."

"Can you just forget it? Please?"

"Not really!" Zelda shot back.

Link sighed and turned over, but Zelda was right there. "Zel-"

She pressed her lips against his. Link's eyes widened. _'What... is she... doing...?'_

_'Don't think... just do...'_ Zelda could hardly understand it herself; it kind of just happened.

And she didn't want to stop.

Little did they know—Groose was somewhere nearby.

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** Oh my! Nothing bad is going to happen, right? Tell me your predictions in a **review**! (hint: reviews = fast updates)  
I kind of made up the Kikwi reproduction process. Don't kill me! Lol

Keep being awesome!


	5. Sarang Hae

**A/N:** You know, I was going to update tomorrow, (4/8) but I decided to write this a day early because you guys are so awesome!

Warning: Major OOCness in this chapter. I just can't stay away from it!

o.o.o

**Five**

o.o.o

Link was paralyzed.

He must have looked like a real idiot with his eyes wide open as Zelda kissed him. He had no idea what to do in this situation. _'Am I supposed to touch her? Do I put my hand there? Wait, maybe I should close my eyes... ah!'_ he mentally fought with himself. Zelda, on the other hand was also stuck in that position; she started something she couldn't finish. She was also fighting her own internal battle with herself; she just wasn't prepared for such a rash action. Zelda pulled away from him and felt extremely embarrassed.

_'I can not BELIEVE that I just did that... oh gosh... what is he THINKING?!'_

Link felt like he should say something, but he was too stunned. However, the silence was killing him. He reached for her arm, but she moved away. Confused, Link just sat there and tried to figure out what this meant for them now. Has their relationship changed? He was afraid of this.

_'Link, please say something...'_ Zelda pleaded in her mind, but he wouldn't. Zelda had no idea what came over her. He was just... right there. He was always right there and now—now she had no idea what was going on. Zelda started to panic, but she tried her best not to show it. She fiddled with her fingers and looked in every direction but him—not that there was much to look at. Finally, she forced herself to go outside of the tent. The moonlight lit down on her. Part of her just wanted to jump into the lake, but she knew that Link would come after her. She could call her Loftwing, but where would she go? After a few moments, Link crawled out of the tent and stood behind her.

"Zelda?"

"Before you say anything, that was merely an... an..." she couldn't put her words together. There was no need to justify her actions but she still felt like she should because she didn't want to be rejected. She didn't want him to say _'What the hell was that?'_ or tease her like he usually would. Zelda trembled before him; tears were forming in her eyes. Link noticed this, but he couldn't bring himself to move forward.

"Why don't... you stay in the tent? I'll sleep out here if it will make you feel better." Link asked.

_'He's not going to say anything about the kiss?'_ Zelda thought to herself. Although she was somewhat thankful, it was also very typical of him to avoid the matter at hand so she should have expected it. Her mind was all out of wack. Zelda nodded and slowly walked towards the tent. As she passed him, she noticed the tint in his eyes. What in the world was he feeling? Was he really just going to leave it like it was?

Suddenly, they heard the 'cawing' sound of a bird—that sounded a lot like a Loftwing. Before Zelda could figure out what was happening, Link dived with her into the tent and put his hand over her mouth. "Shh, it's Groose." Zelda managed to get his hand off, but she remained silent.

"Zelda! Where are you?!" Groose was louder than ever.

"Link, he's going to wake up the Kikwis!" Zelda whispered. Link was struggling for a solution; he knew that if the Kikwis were woken up, especially the elder, they would be extremely pissy and may even try to attack. Not that Link particularly cared if Groose lived or died, but he did respect the Kikwis. Another voice appeared; a much deeper and older sounding one. "Oh my gosh, that's my _father_! Link, do you think they know what this is?"

"I don't know, just be quiet..."

"ZELDA!" Gaepora called; his echo rattled the forest below.

Zelda gave Link a look that said, _'what should we do?!'_ but Link was at a loss. They had to go away eventually, right?

Yerbal was snoozing up in the Great Tree when he was suddenly awakened by Groose. "Hey, what is your problem?! You should be quiet!" He snapped.

"Not until I find my fiance!" Groose called Zelda's name once again.

"I don't know what a fiance is, kwwrk, but Zelda is with Link in the mating tent, so you'd best scad-addle, kwwwrk!"

"WHAT?!" Groose freaked out. "MATING TENT?!"

Hearing this, Link face palmed. They were screwed. "Damn it, Yerbal..."

Groose flew over to Gaepora, "Did you hear that?! Zelda is mating with Link somewhere!"

Gaepora twitched and looked around for anything shaped like a tent. He finally spotted the plant-like structure and swooshed over to it. "Zelda, come out now!"

Zelda glanced at Link; she was terrified. Her father was going to have a fit.

"We don't have a choice..." Link sighed in defeat and started crawling towards the entrance, but Zelda stopped him.

"Link! Do you have any idea what will happen if you go out there?!"

"Not really, but they found us..."

"They're going to think that we... did _that_!"

"Do you really think your father would believe that? Come on, Zelda! It's us! We used to have sleepovers all the time."

"Yeah, when we were like, seven!"

"ZELDA!"

Wishing for the yelling to stop, the two slowly crawled out of the tent; shame all over their faces. Gaepora and Groose were there; completely shocked. Even though they were fully clothed and nothing looked suspicious, the simple fact that they were in the mating tent of the Kikwis was bad enough in Gaepora's eyes.

"Zelda, get on. You're going home." Gaepora said with a chilling voice.

"Dad, we didn't do-"

"SILENCE!"

Zelda started to cry; she had no idea how to convince her father. Link couldn't say anything; he was a little afraid of Gaepora. Zelda climbed onto the Loftwing behind him.

"Say goodbye to Link, you will not be allowed to see him ever again."

"W-What?!"

Before she could say or do anything, Gaepora flew off with her into the sky. Groose made a mocking face at Link before going after them.

"What the hell?!" Link called his Loftwing, but it didn't come. He whistled again. Nothing. _'What is going on?!'_ Link was in panic mode. Would he really never see Zelda again? No, that was nonsense. Gaepora couldn't keep them away from each other no matter how hard he tried. However, Link was more surprised that Gaepora would even say such a thing in the first place. Had he been wrong about Zelda's father all of this time? Did Gaepora really hate him? With no way back to Skyloft, Link was stuck here in the forest.

That didn't mean he was about to give up, though.

o.o.o

Zelda was forced to go back to her father's house. "Dad! What in the world?!"

"Do you realize what you've done?!" Gaepora yelled, "If it gets out that you spent time in that tent with Link, whether you did anything or not, you will be shunned! Zelda, you are engaged! The entire town knows this now, so if they find out about your little rendezvous with that boy you will be ridiculed for the rest of your life!"

"I don't care! I don't like this place anyway!" Zelda cried. "Link is my best friend and I love him!"

"Link cannot do anything for you in the long run. He may be a great friend but I do not believe that he can take care of you! Groose, on the other hand can!"

"No he can't! Groose is the most annoying, self-centered prick that I've ever known! Link is sweet, caring, funny, smart... Link is everything that I want!"

"You don't know what you want! I know what's best for you!" Gaepora slammed her door and locked it from the outside so that she couldn't get out. Zelda banged on the door, but he wasn't changing his mind. Frustrated and grief-stricken, Zelda climbed up on her desk and looked out the small window that she used to crawl out of all of the time. Much to her surprise, Groose was standing guard down below. Zelda wasn't worried much about that, however and started coming up with a plan to escape. She was not about to be the helpless damsel in distress. She heard several voices outside of her window and noticed that Ghirahim and Strich appeared. Groose was laughing with them.

"Oh my, I wonder what they did in that mating tent?!" Ghirahim chuckled. "Sounds like great blackmail, if you ask me."

"Groose!" Cawlin ran up to them, "I can hardly contain Link's Loftwing!"

_'What?'_ Zelda was shocked. Were they holding his Loftwing in contempt?

"Seriously, Cawlin? All you had to do was lock the thing up. I guess I'll go quiet it down." Ghirahim rolled his eyes and walked off with Cawlin. Strich followed them, leaving Groose by himself once again. Zelda had to act fast. She looked around her room for something heavy enough that she could drop onto Groose's head to knock him out. She spotted a bowling ball in the corner and smiled evilly to herself. She knew the ten pound ball would definitely do some damage, so she picked it up, climbed back onto the desk and aimed downward. She could care less if he got hurt; he also couldn't possibly get any dumber than he already was. He deserved to pay for doing that to Link's Loftwing, too. Zelda timed it, made sure he didn't move and then dropped it.

"OW!"

Zelda quickly climbed out the window and jumped down. Groose cowered on the ground beneath her. She kicked him in the side before running off. She needed to save Link's Loftwing before Ghirahim did anything harmful to it. She called her own and it came in a flash. She found the trio and flew ahead of them. Any time now her father would realize that she was gone, so she had to hurry.

But who was he to tell her that she couldn't see Link anymore?

Zelda wasn't going to have it.

"Ugh, where could it be?" Zelda followed Cawlin and the others to see which direction they were going—it looked like they were going towards the Waterfall Cave. "Of course! Damn it, their tricks really get old..." she flew ahead and there it was; the Crimson Loftwing was trapped in a cage. "I'll get you out..." Zelda and her Loftwing tried to free the bird from the cage, but she didn't have anything that could break the wooden bars.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!" Ghirahim and the others appeared.

"This is kidnapping and that's punishable by hanging!" Zelda retorted, not backing away. Ghirahim simply laughed.

"Oh, isn't this cute?"

Zelda turned to her Loftwing, "Go and find Link!" her Loftwing dashed off.

"Stop that Loftwing!" Ghirahim ordered and Cawlin and Strich chased after it. However, their Loftwings weren't trained to go beneath the clouds yet, so Zelda's Loftwing was able to get away. Infuriated, Ghirahim grabbed Zelda's arm and threw her onto the ground. Link's Loftwing cawed loudly. "Stupid woman, I'll see to it that _everyone_ hates you!"

"I don't care!"

"Is that so?" Ghirahim forced her up and pushed her against the cage. "Maybe you should join that bird in there!"

"Let go of me!" Zelda struggled in his grasp.

Ghirahim opened the cage and shoved her in, but as if on cue, Link's Loftwing started flapping wildly and knocked the cage over, also causing Ghirahim to fall onto the ground. Zelda jumped onto the crimson bird and they got away.

"Why is this island filled with idiots?!" she didn't bother to look back.

o.o.o

Gaepora sat on his bed. _'Am I really doing what's best for her?'_ he asked himself; ever since Groose nearly gave up on finding her he had been having doubts, but he was still mostly convinced that everything was in order.

Besides, she would _hate_ him if she knew the _real_ reason...

Gaepora heard Groose talking to himself outside and decided to check it out. Groose was cursing and rubbing a huge bump on his head.

"Groose, what happened?"

"Eh!" Groose straightened up and saluted him, but he couldn't hold it for long. "I-It's... Zelda..."

Gaepora saw the bowling ball on the ground and knew exactly what happened. _'That's my daughter, for ya...'_ he sighed. "Well, go get her!"

"Y-Yes Sir!"

This game of cat and mouse was starting to get old.

o.o.o

Link entered the Sealed Grounds. Luckily, the Kikwis didn't wake up from all of the commotion.

"Link, is that you?"

"Gorko!" Link ran over to the Goron, who was inspecting the statue of the Goddess.

"This is truly remarkable, where did it come from?" Gorko asked.

"Eh," Link was about to explain, but he had other concerns on his mind. Gorko didn't notice, however and just continued looking around the grounds. Link needed to find a way back up to Skyloft, but he couldn't quite figure out how.

"LINK!"

"Whoa, is that your friend?" Gorko looked up at the sky. To Link's delight, it was indeed Zelda, along with his Loftwing. The bird settled in front of him.

"Link, Groose and his stupid friends locked up your bird again... but no worries, we outsmarted those idiots!"

"Awesome!" Link stroked his Loftwing's head. "Sorry that I wasn't there, buddy."

"Anyway, I don't think that we'll be allowed up there any time soon..." Zelda sighed, "I guess I'll have to find a way to tell Kina that I can't work tomorrow..."

"Work?" Link questioned.

"Oh, I didn't tell you? She offered me a job. I went to tell my father and then... he told me I had to marry Groose." Zelda shuddered, "I don't want to go back..."

"Then we won't." Link placed his hand on hers. "We'll go somewhere where nobody can find us... ever." he paused, "But Zelda, once we leave... we can't go back..."

That's when it hit her. She knew that wasn't the logical thing to do no matter how wonderful it sounded.

"As much as I would love to do that... I just... I think we should face them. I don't want to run away. I want to be accepted for who I am... and... I want to be able to... love... the one that I love..." her nervousness was making her jumble her words once again. Link gave her a confused look. Zelda may have been headstrong, but he would rather just disappear and leave everything behind. "Link, let's convince my father that you _are_ perfect for me!"

"What? What do you mean?"

All of the recent events must have given her lots of courage, because she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

Zelda jumped off of the Loftwing and walked up to him. "I've been so afraid... until now..."

"Zelda, what are you talking about?"

She took his hands in hers, "I love you, Link... and I... want to be with you..." she tightened her grip, "...but the question is... do you want the same?"

Link was speechless.

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** PHEW! What's going to happen now, I wonder? REVIEW TO FIND OUT!

Also,  
if you think that this too fast, remember that I'm only planning about ten chapters or so for this story! (I'm thinking of it like episodes of a Japanese drama... o_O) and if there's room for a sequel at the end, I'll cross that road when I get there! (I'm seriously making this up as I go :P)

Please leave a **review**!


	6. Step Up

o.o.o

**Six**

o.o.o

Link was taking too long to respond. Zelda began to sweat; she had no idea what she had just done. However, she held her ground and kept his hands tightly locked with hers. She wasn't going to let him get away this time. She needed an answer no matter what.

"Uh, be with you? But... we're always together, silly. And I know that you love me. I love you too. You're my best friend. Best friends love each other, don't they?" Link couldn't stop talking, "What's the difference now? Why are you looking at me like that? Um, I think I left something in the oven... wait..."

"Link!" Zelda squeezed his hands tighter. She was tired of excuses. Link gulped and tensed up a little more. He wasn't ready for this. Sure, he had taken a few risks earlier and yes they did kiss for the first time but inside Link was ready to jump out of his skin. He tried to come up with some excuse, but her stern look made him even more nervous. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? How long has she felt this way? Why couldn't he say anything back when he obviously felt the same?

"I... can't do this." Link said, parting from her.

"But... why?" Zelda watched in distress as Link went over to his Loftwing. "Link, answer me! I'm tired of you always avoiding this!"

"Can't you see? _That's_ why."

"What is? I don't get it!"

"Whenever you bring something like this up... we fight."

"That's because _you_ won't ever try!" Zelda ran up and hugged him from behind. "Link... I can't hold it in forever... I _need_ you..."

Here she was, pouring her heart out to the one man that she had always loved and he wasn't doing anything about it.

Here he was, listening to the one woman he loved pour her heart out to him and he couldn't even reciprocate her feelings. The one thing Link wanted in the world was right here and he couldn't even take it.

Because he didn't want to get hurt, nor did he want to hurt her.

Relationships had bigger chances of ending than friendships did, in his mind. As much as Link loved her and couldn't imagine his life without her, he was too afraid to actually _be with her_ because of that simple fact. If they started dating, she would change. He would change. There would be more expectations, more fighting. He didn't want that with his best friend, but yet he did. Link just didn't feel like he could live up to the expectations of a girlfriend, or even a wife. If they became a couple, it wouldn't just be about them. He would have to impress her father—who already seemed to favor someone else. Link just didn't know how to deal with this.

"I guess... you don't want the same as I do then..." Zelda's arms retracted back to her sides and she tried really hard not to cry. Even though he was silent, she felt like she got her answer.

And it broke her heart.

_'Tell her you need time... tell her __something__ so that... she doesn't do this...'_ Link struggled with himself, but... nothing.

"Fine... I'll just get married and live happily ever fucking after." Zelda jumped onto her Loftwing. "You... you will never realize how much I love you..."

"Zelda... wait..."

"What, Link?! What is it? Are you going to try to say something but then stop? I'm sick of it! You always leave me hanging with these things! You have _no idea_ what this does to me!" Her tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks, "I love you more than anyone in the world and this is how I'm treated... I can't... take it..." she covered her face and cried.

"You're crying already..."

"BECAUSE OF YOU, IDIOT!"

"Zelda..."

"Because YOU are too afraid to give your heart away..."

o.o.o

Zelda ended up going back home. Link and his Loftwing stayed down below with Gorko, who watched everything transpire. Gaepora was sitting in the kitchen when she arrived. Zelda was in too much grief to notice, however; she felt like her heart had just been stomped on. However, that didn't stop her father from lecturing and yelling. Zelda just sat and took it; she wasn't even listening for the majority of the time.

"You will be home-schooled from now on! You are not to leave this house without Groose or someone else that I approve of."

Zelda just nodded; she didn't quite hear him.

"And I will arrange the wedding for this weekend."

Nod.

"You will start training with some of the housewives here."

Nod.

"Are you listening?"

"Nothing matters anymore. Just do whatever you want..." Zelda dragged herself to her room and shut the door. Gaepora knew he was doing the wrong thing. He knew that she hated this.

But he didn't know how to stop what he already started.

o.o.o

Link made it to class on time the next day, surprising everyone. Zelda was nowhere in sight. Karane came up to him and popped him in the head.

"You idiot!"

"Ow!"

"They were cleaning Zelda's room out this morning! What do you know about this?"

"I don't know anything!" he lied. He had somewhat of an idea.

"I'll tell you!" Groose marched over to them. "Zelda's getting married to ME this weekend! She doesn't need school anymore! She's going to be my cute little housewife!" he boasted.

"Why, you!" Link pushed Groose so hard he nearly flipped over the desk behind him. "Don't you DARE say that about her!"

"Marriage?!" Karane shrieked. "There's no way she would marry you!"

"Oh-Oh yeah?! She told me herself this morning!" Groose yelled back. "She said she gave up and that she just wanted to get it over with!"

"Oh, sounds like she's _so excited_." Karane said sarcastically and crossed her arms, glared at Link, as if this was all his fault. In a way, it was and Link knew it.

Owlan came in holding a book to his face when he noticed all the commotion. Everyone immediately returned to their seats, but the tension in the air was still very apparent. Groose made cracks at Link throughout the entire class. He really just wanted to deck him, but he knew he would be kicked out of school without a second thought if he did that. Groose was Owlan's nephew, so naturally he was favored over him. Link tried to ignore him and just wrote down whatever notes he could remember. Even Karane was a bit surprised that he was taking notes; usually Link would be asleep. He wasn't sure what had come over him.

When class was over, Karane forced Link to come upstairs and see Zelda's empty room. "What are you going to do about it?" Link stepped into her former dorm room. The floor creaked beneath him; an all too chilling sound. Zelda's pink and purple decorations were gone. Her bookshelf was empty. Her clothes weren't in her cupboard. Her harp that she often liked to play was laying on the desk; they probably didn't know what to do with it. Link picked up the harp and held it. _'I made a mistake...'_

"So... where is she?" Link asked Karane, as if she knew.

"Who knows?!"

Link sighed and went back to his room. He set Zelda's harp on his own desk and stared at it. Maybe he really was over-thinking this. After all, Zelda has been his best friend since they could walk. Would a relationship really ruin them?

Only if he let it.

Link felt terrible. He pushed away the one person that he wanted most.

No—the one person that he _needed_ most.

_'I can't let her get married... I can't let her give up on me...'_

Nobody could help Link but himself and he knew that. It was time to face his fears. It was time to finally let go and let her in. All he was doing was hurting himself and avoiding the inevitable. He and Zelda were meant to be. Even if a relationship didn't work out, Link felt like he would always have his best friend. He felt stupid for even denying her. A sudden wave of determination came over him. He grabbed the harp and ran out.

Gaepora was coming down the hall when he saw Link carrying Zelda's harp. Link stopped and bowed to him.

"Where are you off to? My class starts in fifteen minutes, if you have forgotten."

Link knew that he was demeaning him, but he tried to keep his composure. This was Zelda's father; whether he liked it or not, he had no be on his good side."I... um..." Link couldn't really come up with a cover, so he decided to just tell the truth.

The absolute truth.

"Sir, I am in love with your daughter."

Saying it was scary, but after he did it, he somehow felt better. Link had never actually said that out loud until now. It felt... good.

Gaepora sighed. "Link, step into my office."

o.o.o

Zelda had been laying in bed all day. She didn't even bother to look and see if anyone was guarding her window; she just didn't care. She would rather stay here than face Link. She would rather stay here than get married to someone that she obviously hated. Time was winding down for her to be at work, but she didn't think that she was going to make it. She just didn't have the desire to do anything right now. Link had rejected her.

Zelda had tons of pictures of herself and Link, but she had turned them all over so that she couldn't see them. It hurt too much to look at them.

She wished he was here.

Zelda had never felt so helpless in her life. Was this what love felt like? She knew that it wasn't a fairytale, but she at least thought that it would feel much better than this. Sure, she has missed Link before, but now she missed him more than ever. His smiling face appeared in her mind and she tried to shake it out, but she couldn't. She had not stopped thinking about him since she got home. She barely slept the night before. Zelda was a mess. She never anticipated how much this would effect her.

There was a knock at her door. Kina's voice sounded from the other side.

"Zelda, are you in there? I thought we could go to work together!"

Zelda couldn't bring herself to say anything. Kina knocked again. Finally, Zelda pushed herself to get up and open the door. Kina was a little surprised that she wasn't ready for work.

"Zelda... what's going on? Did you forget what day it was?" she gave her a sympathetic look.

"I... can't go..." Zelda mustered.

"Why not? My dad and I were really looking forward to-"

"I can't go!" Zelda yelled, startling the girl. Kina didn't respond and just ran off. Zelda slammed the door and immediately felt stupid. She wanted to go after her and apologize, but it was too late. She probably lost the job now. Zelda had never been so stressed before and she had no idea how to handle it. Her life was spiraling out of control—and it all happened in a matter of days.

"What should I do...?" Zelda slid down onto the floor and cried.

o.o.o

Gaepora had been feeling bad about forcing Zelda into this marriage, but it wasn't entirely his decision. If it was up to him, he would never have arranged it in the first place. He knew that Zelda didn't want to marry Groose. However, he had committed terrible sins that could ruin him, his family as well as the Academy—and the one person that knew about it was blackmailing him for it. His reputation as Headmaster was on the line.

"Link, I don't think that you're a bad kid."

"Really?"

"I know how Zelda feels about you, but there are things going on that I can't quite control."

Link gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"To be honest," Gaepora kept avoiding the point, "I would much rather my daughter marry you than that idiot. You're the one that makes her happy."

Link was shocked. "So... why? Why does she have to marry Groose?" Link shuddered at the thought of it.

"Because her father is a liar and a cheater and he doesn't know how to fix it."

Link couldn't quite understand, but he tried to piece it together, "so... if it was something that you did, I still don't get why Zelda has to suffer in your place."Maybe that was a bit out of line, but it was the only thing that he was getting from all of this.

"Zelda is much better off just going along with what I say rather than what would _really_ happen."

"So... why did you call me in here?" Link was a bit agitated.

"Because I want you to take her back. I want you to stop the wedding."

This wasn't making any sense.

"I know that you love her too. I've made so many mistakes in my life that I can't take back. Putting this marriage together was the hardest thing for me because I knew that it would tear my daughter apart. But you, Link, _you_ can make everything better for her. I know you can."

"It sounds like you're just trying to avoid them."

Link knew all about avoiding problems.

"I'm just trying to make sure that my daughter will be happy when I'm gone." Gaepora held his head low, "I have failed her. Take my place, Link. Love her, take care of her and make her happy for the rest of her life. Only you can do this."

"What... exactly... did you do?" Link asked carefully.

He wouldn't say.

There was a knock on his door. Professor Owlan poked his head in. "Are you going to start class or not?"

Gaepora glared at him, "I'll be right there."

o.o.o

Gaepora decided to excuse Link from class that day so that he could go and visit Zelda. Link reluctantly agreed; but he was on his way over to her house anyway. Link held her harp in his hands. He didn't quite know how to play it, but he figured that maybe he would get her attention if he did. She didn't get mad at him often, but when she did he knew that she wouldn't listen unless he said or did something drastic.

However, Gaepora's words lingered on his mind. What in the world could be so terrible that he had to set his daughter up with Groose? And what was up with that tension between him and Owlan?

Regardless, in Link's mind, this all seemed selfish.

Why couldn't he just face whatever it was like a man?

Maybe this was hypocritical of Link, but he was finally understanding that if he didn't act fast, he was possibly going to lose Zelda forever—the one thing that he was so afraid of in the first place.

He had to get her back—and keep her. Not for Gaepora's sake, but for his own.

Zelda was the love of his life.

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** So there's more to it than meets the eye? I wonder what it is? Hehe! Please leave a **review** below! Only about three chapters to go!

By the way, I often put chapter progress in my profile, so make sure to check that for updates!


	7. Yolo!

**A/N:** My goodness, so sorry about this late update! This chapter will be cray cray. I... guess. xD. MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW! :D

o.o.o

Chapter Seven

o.o.o

Harp in hand, Link made his way over to Zelda's house. A wave of nervousness overcame him; he had just admitted to her father that he was in love with her. Even though he already knew of Zelda's feelings for him, he was still too afraid to tell her himself. He knew that he wouldn't be rejected, yet saying it to her face would change everything. At the same time, he wanted to get it off his chest. Whatever determination he felt before seeing Gaepora was diminished to nothing but the same irrational fears he's had since puberty.

Pipit spotted him heading away from the Academy. "Hey, Link, where are you going? Don't you have class?" Link stopped and hesitated before facing him; how was he going to explain the situation to him?

"Um... I'm... dropping off Zelda's harp at her house." he said. In a way, it was true.

Pipit checked his watch, "you'd better hurry up, then."

Even though Gaepora excused him from class, Link just nodded and hurried off. Zelda's house wasn't far from here. He made it there and stared up at her bedroom window. When they were kids, Link would always set up some boxes and just climb through as if it were no big deal. Could he do the same thing now? Setting the harp aside, Link stood on his tip toes and gripped the edge of the window. He lifted himself up with all of his might and without really looking, he climbed halfway in. With one leg draped over, he suddenly froze in place. There Zelda was—in nothing but her underwear, searching through her drawers for something to wear. She didn't notice him at first. Link gulped. Zelda's ears perked up and she turned, her bare chest completely visible.

Nose. Bleed.

"AHHH!" Zelda screamed, immediately covering herself and grabbing the closest thing to her to throw at him. Link fell out of the window and his back hit the ground, but he couldn't stay there long due to the storm of items flying out the window. He tried to stop the blood from flowing out of his nose as he scrambled to get away. "YOU FUCKING PERVERT! HOW DARE YOU! OH MY GOD!" Zelda's freaked out voice faded in the distance as more items came at him. Link had trouble running for obvious reasons, but he was finally able to get far enough away. He also somehow managed to grab the harp. Breathing frantically, he could hardly stand anymore. Link plopped onto the ground and rocked back and forth, as if it helped him calm down and tried to think of anything but the almost naked Zelda.

_'God, I even saw a nipple! What the hell!'_ his face was as red as a tomato. He must have looked ridiculous just sitting here like this and it got worse when Pipit appeared once again.

"Link? Are you alright?"

"I'M FINE!" he responded automatically, making Pipit very suspicious. Link's nerves were making him sweat; not to mention his shirt was covered in blood. He covered himself, as if he had been violated, but the image of Zelda doing the same thing only made it harder to... suppress himself. Link hugged his knees and tried to hide his embarrassment; to Pipit he looked like a disturbed child. "Find a happy place... find a happy place..."

Oh, but _it was_ a happy place.

"Okay... then..." Thankfully, Pipit walked off. Link just continued to rock back and forth.

It took Link at least twenty minutes just to regain a decent composure.

o.o.o

Zelda threw on some clothes and fell back on her bed in shock. To put it frankly, Link had just seen her boobs. Zelda blushed furiously; but at the same time she was extremely upset. _'Link, you idiot!'_ she instinctively covered herself with her arms and sat there. Before Link arrived, she was trying to get ready to go to work and beg for her job back. Now, she was way too afraid to do anything—especially face her stupid best friend.

Even if she loved him, those things were only okay if he felt the same and they were married.

She felt so exposed.

With all of her strength, Zelda put on the most minimum amount of makeup possible. As she was looking at herself in the mirror, images of Link's face when he saw her kept popping up in her mind and she couldn't help but be paranoid now. Zelda kept turning back and looking at her window, as if she was being watched. Zelda even felt weird for putting on the lipstick.

"It will never happen again... it will never happen again..." she kept telling herself as she grabbed her bag and hurried out the door.

o.o.o

Gaepora's class was finally over. Students swarmed out of the classroom, dropping off their quiz papers as they left. Gaepora stacked them neatly on the corner of his desk. Suddenly, he heard his door close and Professor Owlan stood there; his hands behind his back. He walked towards him and eyed him up and down.

"I noticed that Link didn't come to your class today."

"He had something to take care of, so I let him skip." Gaepora answered.

"Could that _something_ possibly be seeing your daughter?" Owlan went up and down the aisles.

"It's none of your business." Gaepora snapped back.

"Oh, but _it is_. You do realize what will happen if Zelda doesn't marry my nephew, correct?" Owlan turned and glared at him. Gaepora stood his ground. One thing that he knew was that he loved his daughter more than anything and it wasn't right to make her suffer in his place. He had to take responsibility for what he had done. "You know, I've always wondered why you had the nicest house here. You may be the Headmaster, but your salary isn't far off from the rest of us. Wasn't it _you_ that said that we were all equals?"

"I am working on fixing things." Gaepora responded and grabbed a few folders as if he was preparing to leave. "I can't change what already happened, but I did it for her."

"Tch, you did it for _yourself._ Everyone else here has been honest and hardworking. You took the easy way out—and unfortunately for you, the worst way." Owlan came up to him. "You'd better watch yourself, or I'll expose you."

"Why do you want Groose to marry Zelda anyway?!"

"Because it's the best way to make you suffer." Owlan answered simply and left.

"Damn you..." Gaepora gritted his teeth and stormed out of the classroom.

o.o.o

Link did everything in his power to forget what happened earlier that day, but it was to no avail. He ended up spending time in his dorm room until nightfall. Karane and Pipit had to force him to come out to the Lumpy Pumpkin pub where everyone else was. Groose, Ghirahim, Cawlin and Strich were huddled together on the stage, singing some stupid song. Link didn't see Zelda anywhere; which he was somewhat thankful for.

"Congratulations to Groose for getting engaged!" Strich called out.

"Why did you bring me here?" Link rolled his eyes and tried to escape, but Pipit grabbed the back of his collar and prevented him from leaving.

"We must have a bachelor party!" Ghirahim exclaimed.

Groose noticed Link was there, so he decided to mess with him. "Well, well! Look who decided to show up!"

"You know, your four look like you just got out of a very exhausting orgy. I'll let you cool down a bit." Link said and tried to leave once again, but was stopped by Groose.

"What the hell did you say?!" Groose pushed him back. Remaining calm, Link brushed himself off and regained his posture.

"I bet he couldn't beat you in a rap battle!" Ghirahim shouted.

"Say wha-" Link was cut off.

"AWE YEAH!" Groose yelled. Link was forced up onto the stage. Link blinked a few times—he had no idea what was happening. Groose cleared his throat and pointed straight at him. "Do you accept the challenge?!"

Link deadpanned; he really had nothing to say at this point.

"BEGIN!" Ghirahim called out, much to Link's dismay.

"I need a beat!" Groose glanced over at Strich and Cawlin, who immediately started beat boxing. Link sweat-dropped; he couldn't believe this was happening right now. Groose started waving his hands in different directions, as if it was the cool thing to do. "Uh, uh... yeah... oh... yeah... word..."

Zelda and Kina appeared; they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was going on. Zelda exchanged disturbed glances with Link, who just stood there and took whatever Groose came up with.

"My name is Groose, I come right out of Skyloft, I've got a huge HEART and inside I'm real soft, like you don't even know I make rhymes out of my ass, I bet you couldn't show Zelda half as much class as I do when I'm spittin' out these lyrics, you call me butt ugly I call you a big dimwit 'cause I got the girl and she's gonna be my wife so you'd better suck it like gonads and strife!"

Cawlin, Stritch and Ghirahim chanted "gonads and strife" three times in the background.

"Ooh's" and "ah's" were heard. Everyone turned their attention to Link, who immediately was hit with stage fright. Zelda was watching him as well.

...Yolo.

Link went so fast it was hard to understand him. "You may have the girl tonight, but I'll have her for life, you could never woo my Zelda nor can you win this fight, I've got fifty rupees saying that you'll always be a slave and you'll be praying that I'm playing but you know that I'm right."

"Dayum..." Pipit, along with others, clapped and cheered. Link took a bow. Zelda's jaw dropped in shock. A few customers walked in but they were completely entranced by the battle on stage. Groose fumed and tried to come up with a comeback.

"Oh yeah?! What makes you think she's yours? I'm the one who bought the ring, excuse me mister, I think you'd better back up and think for just one second! Look at you, what good are you?! I've got the body of the gods and you look like you just got out of Timbuktu, don't mess with me I'll break your face now shut up and know your place!"

Link rolled his eyes and sighed. It was time to end this. "She loves me, she you loves you not, I don't care what you've got it's best not to test me when you know you can't win, last I checked I didn't see any ring, you cannot outsmart me so don't try anymore, the best chance you have at love is with that dirty whore," Link glanced at Ghirahim and then continued, "I'm in love with Zelda and there's nothing you can do to stop me so just admit your defeat and go cry to your poppy."

Crickets.

More crickets.

Well, Link never expected to confess his love through a rap battle, but it was much easier than any other way.

Talk about _drastic_.

Zelda rushed back into the kitchen to hide. _'Did I hear him correctly?!'_

Link watched as she ran off. Groose, Ghirahim and the other two lackies ran out of the pub, followed by "boo's" and an angry mob. Karane and Pipit were so excited. "Link, that was amazing!" Karane exclaimed. "And you actually said it!"

"Yeah... it kinda just came out..."

o.o.o

Zelda's training for the day was finally over; she was surprised that she was even able to take in all of what Kina was telling her after the roller coaster she went through. She went from crying her eyes out, to being exposed, to finally learning Link's true feelings about her. After she was done helping Kina close, they went their separate ways. Much to her surprise, Link was waiting for her outside. Unsure of what to say, Zelda just walked right past him. She was still extremely embarrassed that he saw her naked.

"I'm sorry, Zelda."

"What?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't warn you before I came up." He came up behind her, "I... don't want things to be weird between us."

"Too late for that!" Zelda pulled away from him.

"I didn't see anything!"

It was a lie, but if it could possibly make Zelda feel better, he was willing to stick with it.

"...really?"

"Honest." Link put up his left hand, as if he was making an oath. He then smirked mischievously, "But... if I did, I bet I would have liked it." he nudged her shoulder. Zelda went red.

"Link!" he was teasing her again. She then remembered what he said on stage. "So... is it true...?"

"Is what true?"

"You... really love me...?"

Link took a deep breath and pulled her into a hug. "Yes, I've always loved you."

He finally said it. She finally heard it with her own ears. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Link asked worriedly.

"Link... I don't want to get married... not to Groose..."

"I know," Link wiped her tears.

"What should we do...?"

"I'll... think of something. When's the wedding?"

"The day after tomorrow..."

"Did you really tell Groose that you'll marry him?" Link asked, remembering what Groose said in class.

"I was very weak..." Zelda started to shake, "I said it in the heat of the moment... I didn't mean it..."

Link gave her a warm smile, "it's okay."

"Link?"

"Yes?"

"Could you do something for me?" Zelda asked shyly, refusing to make eye contact.

"Anything."

"Could you say it one more time?"

Link blinked twice, "Say what?" Zelda didn't answer. _'Oh, I get it.' _He placed his hands on her cheeks and went in for a deep, passionate kiss. Zelda could barely contain her happiness and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. This was right. This was the way it was supposed to be. Their lips parted and Link slowly opened his eyes and looked into hers. "I love you, Zelda... and I want to be with you."

She couldn't help but giggle. Link blushed, but eventually all he could do was smile.

_'That wasn't so hard, was it?'_ Zelda thought to herself. Link took her hand in his and squeezed it; his heart was beating fast and he had never felt better in his life. He wasn't going to let his own worries ruin this anymore. He was meant to be with Zelda and that was all there was to it. Now all he had to do was figure out how to crash the wedding.

Easier said than done, right?

o.o.o  
o.o.o

**A/N:** I have to say, that was a lot of fun to write!

Here's where you come in, fellow wedding crashers!

Lend me your ideas on how to crash a wedding! If enough people give me ideas, I'll merge it all into one... somehow... and make the FINAL CHAPTER EPIC! Yes, chapter eight will be the last chapter.

Tell me through a wonderful **review**, and for the REALLY DARING, rap it out! (If my white girl self can make up a rap, you can too)

WHO'S UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?!

As always, remember to check the "story progress" section in my profile updated at least every other day. :D

Have a great rest of the day!


	8. Switched at the Alter

**A/N:** Planning a wedding sucks. I never want to get married. Hence the long delay on this chapter. XD

o.o.o

**Eight**

o.o.o

It was the day of her wedding.

Zelda could not stop thinking about Link's words. It was so refreshing and amazing to finally know the truth, that she nearly forgot that she was getting married. However, there would be plenty of people to remind her—starting with her father. Gaepora came into her room and gave her a sympathetic look. He was already wearing the traditional clothing that the father of the bride was supposed to. It was a silky, light blue tunic with long white pants. The emblem of the goddess was sewn onto his right shoulder—normally the mother of the bride would sew this on but unfortunately she was not around. A look of regret appeared on his face; one day he would tell his daughter of his wrongdoings, but he was too afraid. Depending on Link was the only hope Gaepora had left.

Zelda's wedding would be on the Surface – right in front of the Statue of the Goddess. All weddings took place there before the Isle of the Goddess broke away from Skyloft, so to uphold the tradition they would just have to travel a little. Her nerves started to set in as the time winded down. She had three hours to get ready. Honestly, Zelda could not imagine a life with Groose. He was overbearing, lazy and cocky. Zelda was strong, independent but dreamy all at the same time—two personalities that were sure to clash at every waking moment. Link, on the other hand, was calm, reserved and hilarious. His idea of fixing problems were avoiding them, but Zelda knew that she could eventually get him to do things. Link had potential. They had been best friends forever and Zelda believed that you had to be best friends with the person you marry anyway. Zelda hated Skyloft traditions and if she had the power to change them, she would in a heartbeat.

She didn't hear from Link at all yesterday and it was starting to make her worry. Zelda picked up her brush and started running it through her long, golden hair. Suddenly, she heard her father at the door. "Zelda, your friends are here."

"My friends...?" Hoping Link was one of them, she opened the door but only to see Karane and Pipit standing there with huge grins on their faces.

"I'm going to start heading down to the surface." Gaepora told her, "but first," he went into the other room and brought back a long, white dress, "this was your mother's wedding dress."

Karane and Pipit exchanged mischievous glances.

"Please take good care of it." Gaepora gave it to her and left. As soon as they were sure he was gone, Karane pushed Zelda into her chair and Pipit locked the door. She gave them an astounded look, but they didn't waste any time.

"So... we came up with a plan to stop the wedding. You don't even have to wear this."

"What?" Zelda asked, confused.

"Link should be here any moment." Pipit added, looking out the window.

"What's going on?"

"We'll tell you when Link gets here. He doesn't know either—but trust me, it's going to be _good_." Karane assured her. "Oh, look! There he is now!"

o.o.o

"No, no, no and HELL NO!" Link protested. Pipit opened his mouth to speak once more, but was interrupted by Karane.

"Come _on, Link!_ It's the perfect plan!" Karane pestered.

"No." Link tried to leave Zelda's room, but Zelda grabbed his arm. Gulping, they both blushed and separated from each other.

"You'll be covered by a veil! We just need a little distraction first and this is the only way to do it!" Karane argued.

"One," Link began, "I am taller than her."Link compared his height to Zelda with his hands, swooping it right over her head. Zelda felt the need to duck for some reason.

"Everyone would assume she's wearing heels." Karane reasoned back. Zelda and Pipit nodded in agreement, but Link wasn't giving up.

"Two, I don't have boobs!"

...Awkward.

Flashes of what happened the day before plagued their minds.

"Uhm, it's called _stuffing_. Even Karane does it." Pipit answered, only to be hit by his embarrassed girlfriend. Ignoring that, Link continued, trying his hardest to ignore the mental images in his head.

"THREE, I will NEVER wear a dress, make up or anything of the sort! Especially not her _mother's _dress! There HAS to be another way!"

"All you have to do is take Zelda's place for a few minutes." Karane said. "Besides, we're running out of time! Really, Link... you should have come up with a plan YESTERDAY instead of sleeping all day!"

"So that's why I didn't see or hear from you?" Zelda popped him in the head. "Do you know how worried I was... and still am?!"

"I'm sorry, okay? And then what? I'll just look like an idiot! I'm not Ghirahim, I do _not_ cross-dress!"Link protested.

After the wedding, Zelda would immediately have to move into Groose's house (with his mother). It definitely was not the ideal situation, but all Link knew was he had to stop it. He still had no idea what her father did to get her in such a mess, but regardless, he knew what he wanted.

But that didn't mean he had to go to ridiculous lengths to accomplish his goal.

Unfortunately for him, though, Pipit and Karane would beg and plea until the cows grew wings and replaced their precious bird companions... and with Zelda in the mix, he had no choice but to go along with their antics. Link knew he should have planned this yesterday when he actually had time, but his bed was just so comfortable. Besides, truthfully, this was stressful to him. In a matter of two weeks, he learned that Zelda was getting married, got drunk, kissed her in the mating tent, she told him she loved him and then finally he told her he felt the same. The wedding just to happened to be today, the day after he decided to take a much needed break. He truly thought that it wasn't his fault. However, Link was pretty skilled when it came to improvising, so he felt confident enough that he would be able to keep his promise.

...even if it meant he had to take her place in the wedding.

"Fine, fine! But it's only because... I don't want you to marry that freak..." Link sat in Zelda's desk chair as the girls giggled and immediately began messing with his hair. Zelda pulled out all of her makeup. Pipit wasn't exactly sure what he could do to help in this situation, so he just stood by and handed the girls anything that looked remotely similar to the item they were asking for. "Ow, quit tugging on my hair!" Link groaned as Karane used a headband to put his hair back.

"I just so happen to have a wig that looks like Zelda's hairstyle. Pipit, hand it to me!" Karane ordered. Link nearly choked on the long strands in front of his face until Karane situated it perfectly on his head. Zelda gasped in excitement.

"Oh my gosh, he looks so much like me!" Zelda laughed. Link's mouth gaped open in shock as he stared at himself in the mirror.

"We should wait until we get down to the Surface before doing anything else." Karane said, "the wind will just mess up his beautiful looks."

"...we're really doing this...?" Link complained even more, but was ignored.

"Let's meet on the side of the Sealed Temple... where no one can see us." Zelda suggested as she grabbed her harp. "We have to play this at the ceremony."

"Zelda, what are you going to do?" Link asked.

"I think I'll be you! So give me your clothes after you change."

"W-What?!"

"Hey, it's okay for me. Girls can wear guy's clothes. It's a little more acceptable. You look so pretty!" Zelda pinched his cheek.

o.o.o

Link could not believe that he was actually doing this right now. Pipit, Karane, Zelda and now Impa stood outside of the room as Link struggled to put on the white dress without ripping it. He felt kind of bad wearing Zelda's mother's wedding dress, but it was for a good cause, wasn't it?

"Come out, let us see you!" Zelda called to him, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Never!" Link yelled as he tried to zip up the back of the dress, but nearly fell over in the process. Defeated, he finally gave up and stepped out from behind the curtain in shame. Pipit let out a huge laugh as Link mentally cursed him. Link could barely breathe when Pipit zipped him up; even though he was pretty fit, he didn't have the curves that Zelda did. He had no idea how he was going to pull this off.

"Suck that belly in!" Zelda teased as she hit him right in the stomach. "Have you been eating a lot again?"

"No, I just haven't been... oh, nevermind..." Link became quiet, defeated. Nothing he said right now would be taken seriously.

"You didn't put on the bra?" Karane asked, examining him. Embarrassed, Link shook his head. Karane pushed him back behind the curtain and forced him to put the bra on. "Pipit, give us your socks."

"Why do we have to use MY socks?!" Pipit whined as he pulled them off.

"Why do they have to be SOCKS in general?!" Link nearly gagged when he smelled them. Karane stuffed a sock into each side of the bra.

"Fix it and make it look real. The pointy boob era is over." Karane left him alone behind the curtain. The wig was itchy. The dress just barely fit. He looked absolutely _ridiculous_. Nobody would fall for this. _Nobody_.

"Guys, I really don't think this is-" Link stopped when he came out from behind the curtain and saw Zelda wearing his clothes.

This was officially the weirdest day of his life.

He and Zelda had literally switched places.

And of course, she looked WAY better than he did. Gender bending was acceptable, like she said, just not for him.

"Alright, Pipit go and finish up the rest of our plan. I... guess Zelda can help you... as long as she doesn't talk much. Impa and I will work on Link's makeup."

"Do we really have to go that far...? You said I'll be covered anyway!" Link was never listened to. "Besides, you never told me what we're going to do at the actual ceremony!"

"All you have to do is walk down the isle. Now hush!"

o.o.o

Groose was across the hall with Ghirahim, fixing his black tie in front of the mirror. Cawlin and Strich were guarding the door.

"You look FABULOUS!" Ghirahim clasped his hands together in excitement. Groose examined himself in the mirror; he did look pretty sharp. He never expected to be here; his uncle pulled some strings for him and now he was marrying the girl of his dreams. Link couldn't win this time. "There's only twenty minutes left until the ceremony starts." Ghirahim told him. Groose's nerves were getting to him.

"Zelda will be my wife!"

o.o.o

The guests gathered in the chairs in front of the statue. There were beautiful flower decorations all over. A table with tons of food and an enormous seven foot white cake was off to the side. Professor Owlan and Gaepora sat on opposite sides. Gaepora had been trying to figure out a way to stop this on his own; he felt bad for using Link to cover up his own mistakes. _'Maybe I should just say something before its too late...'_

Professor Horwell was conducting the ceremony. He prepared everything up at the alter. Groose made his entrance; of course his arrival wasn't too important. He took his place to the right of Horwell. Owlan smirked at him, then over at Gaepora. The tension was high.

_'I never should have let it get out of control...'_

_'Zelda will hate me, but at least she won't have to marry that dud...' _Gaepora was grossed out at how 'proper' Groose looked, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. He knew Groose really liked his daughter, but none of this should have ever happened.

He had to make things right.

o.o.o

_"Hey _Zelda!" Karane joked.

"I'm not Zelda! Gah!" Link huffed.

"Alright, Link! We're going to go and sit down! Remember, when the door opens, just take it one step at a time. Don't lift your head up or say anything you'll be fine!" Karane said to him.

"Thank you for not making me wear heels." Link mustered out.

"Seriously? If you wore heels-"

"We get it." Link interrupted.

"You'll do great!" Zelda said and kissed his powdered cheek.

_'She needs to wear my clothes more often. That's hot.'_ Link thought to himself, but quickly shook it away. Karane, Pipit and Zelda left him there, right in front of the doors.

"Well... here goes nothing..."

This was really unnecessary. He could have just ruined the wedding by flying in on his Loftwing, kidnapped Zelda and they could have flown off together.

Why did Karane and Pipit have to do things the complicated way?!

And if anyone found out... Link would be teased about it for the rest of his life.

_'I really should not have slept in yesterday...' _

He heard bells when the doors opened and light shone in his face. Impa pushed him forward and wished him good luck. Link had no idea what to expect at this moment, but it was really hard to build the courage to go through with this. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to convince himself. _'It's all for Zelda...'_

Horwell began reading some traditional wedding scripture. The guests all stood up and faced Link in the wedding dress. Link didn't look up. _'If I'm caught, I'm abandoning Skyloft and going to live with the Kikwis.'_ He could find a way to blend in. Nobody seemed to notice that it wasn't Zelda underneath that veil, so so far everything was going alright. When Link reached the chairs, he tried his best not to stop walking. _'Don't worry, it's almost time!'_ he heard Karane whisper. He glanced over and saw Karane and Zelda waving at him. Link stopped at the steps.

"You may proceed." Horwell told him.

_'I don't want to stand in front of him... he'll know...'_ Link hesitated.

"Where's Orielle with the-" Zelda whispered to Karane, but was interrupted by an outburst by Owlan.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned their attention to Owlan, who was now walking towards Link. By instinct, he did a backflip away from the professor, causing his veil to fall off right in front of Gaepora. Zelda gasped and rushed over to help him put it back on. After Link was covered once more, Owlan proceeded.

"This wedding is not going to happen." Owlan began laughing hysterically. "I just wanted to see if Gaepora would actually go through with it."

"Daddy, what's he talking about?!" Zelda had forgotten that she was supposed to be Link. Everyone stared at them. "...uh, I mean..." she nudged Link's side sharply, causing him to grunt.

"Is this how you..." Gaepora shook his head, "Whatever. Zelda, I have something to tell you..." he decided to play along. He helped Link to his feet. It was hard to keep a straight face. "A few years ago... I did something that I deeply regret."

"Let me tell you!" Owlan pushed past them. "Haha! Gaepora stole money from everyone! That's right, I caught him red handed! Money that was supposed to pay for the student's tuition to the Academy, yeah, this man right here took it and used it for his own personal pursuits!"

"I'm not proud of it! I was really desperate and I know there's no excuse now." Gaepora yelled. Zelda, Link and everyone else was shocked. Karane was supposed to have set the plan in motion by now, but this was so unexpected. Even Pipit, who was hiding in the cake (somehow) popped his head out.

"Y-You... did what?" Zelda couldn't believe it. Even Link was speechless. He didn't expect it to be this bad, especially for a man he always looked up to.

"Therefore, I have decided to step down as Headmaster." Gaepora declared. "I don't know how to make it up to all of you in any other way. I don't deserve to be in that position. Zelda," he faced his daughter, knowing that the disguise was up, (and a little disturbed), "I've always tried to do what's best for you. But this... this isn't right. You shouldn't have to suffer because of me. What kind of father would I be if I let you marry that idiot?"

"HEY!" Groose yelled, but was ignored.

"Can you believe it? He actually thought he could cover it up with this wedding, but I would have exposed him anyway." Owlan said. However, before he was about to speak again, they heard someone yelling from a distance.

"QUICK, GET OUT OF THERE!" It was Orielle and she was running in the direction of the alter in a panic.

All of a sudden, about fifteen angry Remlits raided the area. Guests screamed and tried to get away by calling their Loftwings. Professor Horwell also fled, leaving Groose in a very vulnerable position. A Remlit was coming straight for him. In a flash, Link countered the aggravated animal and knocked Groose over. He quickly got away from him and took Zelda's hand in his.

Normally, Remlits were only aggressive when they hadn't slept and they could be trained only to attack certain people. Karane and Pipit thought that Orielle had it under control, but they were going after everyone.

"Karane, what the hell!" Link yelled out. "Zelda, your harp! If you play it, they'll calm down!"

"Oh, right!"

Luckily for them, the Remlits had chased everyone away. Pipit was still hiding in the cake; so far nobody had noticed him. Zelda began playing a beautiful, soothing melody on the harp. The Remlit's ears perked up and they stopped what they were doing. After a few moments, they were all asleep.

"So sorry, guys. I thought this would work." Karane apologized. Only Zelda, Link, Gaepora, Karane and Pipit were left. Owlan disappeared somewhere and everyone else had gone back to Skyloft. The wig had fallen off of Link's head somewhere in the middle of the commotion. "Pipit, you can come out now."

Pipit jumped straight out of the cake, "TADA!" he said sarcastically, "so much for a _grand entrance_..." he walked over to the rest of the group, a bit disappointed.

"Now you kind of look like Ghirahim. Your mascara has gotten underneath your eyes." Karane said bluntly, but before Link could scold her for this completely ridiculous and unnecessary way to crash the wedding, Zelda grabbed his arm and pulled him up to the alter.

"Link, how much do you love me?"

"What? A... a lot?"

"Enough to marry me right now?"

"EH?!" Link's eyes widened in shock. "Zelda, I would love to but... I don't want to wear this!"

Zelda rolled her eyes and whined. "Link... come on... we're already here and weddings are too complicated... let's just do it now! We can take the formal pictures later. My dad can marry us!" Zelda gave her father puppy eyes, "Please, daddy?"

"Aren't you mad at me?" Gaepora asked, a bit stunned.

"Yes, but this is our only chance!"

"No it's-" Link was hit in the arm. Zelda just smiled. _'This is really messed up...'_ Link thought to himself. He couldn't wait to get this dress off. Gaepora stood behind the alter. The book that Horwell was reading was on the ground. Karane and Pipit, along with the sleeping Remlits were their witnesses.

This was really happening.

"Link, just think, this just proves that I love and accept you for who you are. Sweetie, if you want to wear my clothes, all you have to do is ask. I won't judge you." Zelda giggled.

"Hush! Can we just... get this over with...?"

"So you WILL marry me?!" Zelda wrapped her arms around the very embarrassed knight.

"Alright, alright... calm down... uh..." Gaepora scanned the book silently for a few minutes, but then closed it, "Oh, just kiss already."

And they did.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Link, please go and change."

"THANK YOU!" Link sped off.

"Zelda, aren't you going to go too so you can give his clothes back?" Karane asked. Zelda hugged herself happily and shook her head.

"I like wearing this. It's so comfortable!"

o.o.o

Link was finally able to wear his own clothes again and get rid of all the makeup and any evidence that he had ever cross-dressed. He may have had to do a bunch of "manly" things for a few days, but regardless, things were finally returning back to normal. Pipit decided to help him build a house for him and Zelda to live in in the middle of the Faron Woods and then build a house next door for himself and Karane. The Kikwi's were helping too. Link still couldn't believe that he was actually married, but for the most part, it didn't feel too different.

Gaepora stepped down from his position and made Professor Horwell the Headmaster. It turned out that Professor Owlan had some skeletons of his own, (thanks to Pipit's random discovery of his hentai collection) and now he was the blackmailed one. Zelda didn't forgive her father completely, but she was too distracted with the fact that she was now officially able to be with her best friend. She didn't mind the Kikwi's company either.

Groose cried for days, but Zelda and Link didn't stick around. However, they did feel a little sorry for him. Ghirahim swore he would put some sort of curse on them, but he was ignored too.

Everything had fallen into place.

Life was perfect.

...well, almost.

"So... about that mating tent?" one of the Kikwi's asked her. Zelda blushed furiously. "W-We... will go there when we're ready!" Link wrapped his arm around her and gave her a mischievous look.

"What's the matter, honey? Don't you want me? We can do it right here, right now."

"Oh, come on! Save us the mental image!" Pipit yelled.

"We're married, so it's perfectly acceptable. Besides, I've already-"

"Link, shut up!" Zelda's face couldn't get any redder.

But this was part of the reason she loved him.

Zelda was more than ready to start her new life with the one that she had always wanted, here on the surface. This was what she had always dreamed of and now it was a reality. Link was getting more accustomed to saying "I love you" and pretty soon she would hear it every single day.

Especially when he said it underneath the stars.

Nothing could get in their way.

o.o.o  
o.o.o  
o.o.o

**Fin**

o.o.o

**A/N:** I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT ON THIS CHAPTER OMG YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA!

I tried to shape this chapter like you guys said, hope you're not disappointed! Also, I wanted to crack on the people always confusing Link with Zelda. SHUN THEM!

And now, I will do a special, never done before, honorary mention to ALL my reviewers.

_ScarletBloodRayne, Crush-Chan17, Bytemite, CupcakePride101, zeldalover272, emodarkwolf14, Adventuregirltwi1, NayruSol42, KittyKat1217, Wildgirl404, KatieHyruleMC, wolflink207, laindessiel, tswift1fan, obsessedanimechick3003, Ecological, the one who writes the ones, AnaKrivonosov, LordWoodrow, WolfenAmpithere, LovelyKiridia, Yami no Nakutan (thanks for the rap! xD), Link234521, The Black and Silver Angel and ALL of the wonderful guest reviewers!_

I'm so glad that you guys really enjoyed this story. Right now I don't see a sequel, so this is it! Thanks so, so much everyone! :D please leave one last **review** and let me know what you think! :)

'til next time!


End file.
